A CALL TO MACEDONIA: LYDIA P/4

 

 

                                                                         Read Part One HERE

A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                        PART XVI - IV

"This morning Silas and I, Paul left Lydia's home... We have been staying there since we arrived in Philippi.... We were expecting to return to her home this evening... However, that is now what happened... Instead, we are in jail... We are not in jail becauce we committed a crime... We are in jail because we were obedient to the Lord... Let me explain... You may remember that a young girl kept following us when we were out preaching.... And she kept shouting that people should listen to us... However, I realised that the spirit who spoke through her was not the Holy Spirit... Instead, a demonic spirit spoke through her..And that is why the Lord led me to deliver her from that demonic spirit... We rejoiced that she had been set free... For that would mean she could follow Jesus.... However, not everyone rejoyed over her deliverance.... Her owners, for instance, were not happy.... They had used her to make money with her fortune telling... But their source of income had stopped the moment she lost the ability to make predictions...They had become very angry... So they had us seized and taken before the authorities...That is why we now find ourselves in prison... However, we trust the Lord that He will take care of us... He must have a purpose for us being here.... No doubt, we will soon find out what that purpose is."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn how Paul and Silas ended up in prison...

                  ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                       PART XVI - IV

Not everyone in Philippi was happy that this young girl had been set free from a demonic spirit through the ministry of Paul. And those who were not happy with what had happened to her were her owners. In fact, her owners were furious with Paul. For you see, they had been able to use this young girl to earn money with since she was able to predict things for people. However, because Paul had set her free from this demonic spirit she was no longer able to make predictions and, consequently, there was going to be financial loss for them. They did not care about this young slave girl. They only cared that she was able to make them money. And now Paul and Silas had put a stop to that.These men needed to be punished. They needed to be taught a lesson to never do such a thing again so the owners decided they should be thrown in jail to teach them a lesson as you can read in Acts 16:19-23

When her owners realised that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place to face the authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice." The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severly flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.

Paul and Silas may not have expected to be thrown in prison that day. But that is what happened. Did the Lord know where they were? After all, He had been the One who had sent them to Philippi.

Read Part Five HERE

A CALL TO MACEDONIA: LYDIA P/3

 Read part One HERE

  A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                         PART XVI - III

"Silas and I, Paul, are still staying in Philippi... We went here because of a vison the Lord had given me....We are staying at the home of our first convert... She is a woman named Lydia... It is wonderful to se her mature in her faith... Every day we go out looking for opportunities to share the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ with whomever will listen... We have had some very good responses... At the same time we have had to deal with a young slave girl who has been following us for days... Every day she would find us no matter which part of the city we were.... And she would begin to shout...What she said about us sounded right.... For she shouted that we are servants of the Most High God... And that we should be listened to....However, I discerned that something about her was not right....And today the Holy Spirit made it very clear that she should be stopped.... Because what she was saying was not inspired by Him... But by a demonic spirit....I the knew that it was time for this young girl to be set free from this evil spirit...And I commanded that spirit to come out of her in the Name of Jesus... She was instantly delivered.... And is now free to follow Jesus.... Praise God."... Please read they typed out attachment when you will learn of Paul's ministry to a young slave girl...

 

                      ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS          

                                                       PART XVI - III

As Paul and Silas were going around Philipi preachimg the gospel, a young slave girl followed them. And she had something amazing to say as you can read in Acts 16:16-17

Once when we were going to the place of prayer we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by her fortune telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants f the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved."

We would expect Paul to be very pleased with her help and thankful to the Holy Spirit for having send her to them. And, in particular, because this young girl was from the area and would have been known by many people and would, therefore, have encouraged many people to listen to their message. But one day, after she had followed them for many days already. Paul suddenly stopped in the middle of his preaching, turned around, looked at this young slave girl, and spoke to her. Was he perhaps inviting her to join their ministry team? No, not exactly. Moreover, he did not really speak to her, he spoke to a demonic spirit that was on the inside of her and he commanded this demonic spirt to come out of her in the Name of Jesus Christ as you can read in Acts 16:18

She kept this up for many days. Finally, Paul became so annoyed that he turned around 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.

The amazing thing is that demonic spirit obeyed Paul and left her. Why did Paul do such a thing? Because, no doubt, the Holy Spirit had shown him that He was not the Source behind the girl's words, but that these words had been inspired by a demonic spirit. Consequently, anyone who had come to believe in Jesus through listening to her would not have become a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. We need that same discernment today for we need to know that those we listen to are led by the Holy Spirit and not by a false spirit.

No doubt, the crowd who had watched what had happened to this young girl would have been very amazed. They knew her. At least, many of them would have known her. And they would have known that she had always been able to know facts about people. But they did not know that this was because of a demonic spirit in her. And so the people must have been amazed when they saw this young girl released from this demonic spirit. And they would have been very happy for her.  

Read Part Four HERE         

 

                

A CALL TO MACEDONIA: LYDIA P/2

  Read Part One HERE
 

   A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                          PART XVI - II

"In the morning I, Paul, shared the vision I had that night with Silas and Tmothy... The vision was about a man from Macedonia asking us to come over.... We all agreed that the Lord wanted us to go to Macedonia... So we set off as soon as we were ready to do so.... It took us a fewdways to get to Philippi, the main city of Macedonia... But once we got there we got ourselvelves settled in... For we knew the Lord had ministry for us there... Today is the Sabbath day... Normally I would try and find a synagogue to share the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ with my Jewish brothers.... However, there is not a synagogue in Philippi.... That must mean there are not sufficient Jewish men to set up a synagogue....Silas, Timothy and I looked at each other... What should we do now?... We knew the Lord had called us to minister here in Philippi.... It then dawned on me that we should go to the river... For we may well find a group of women there who have gathered to pray... That is what we did... And we did find a group of women there praying.... I began to share the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ with them... They listened attentively... One in particular caught my attention.... I could see she was very open to my message... I proved to be right.... For afterwards she spoke to me.... It was clear she had understood everything... It was, therefore, only right that she should be baptised....We are now staying with her.... Her name is Lydia.... She is a business woman...We do not believe our ministry in Philippi has already ended... My prayer is that one day soon we will have a thriving church in Philippi that meets at Lydia's home... And for her to become part of the leadership team."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn of Paul's ministry to a group of women, which was something he would have never done as a Pharisee....

                     ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                             PART XVI - II

Paul, after having received his vision about a man from Macedonia asking him to come over, set out for Philippi as you can read in Acts 16:11-12

From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day to Neapolis. From there to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

On the Sabbath day he went to look for a group of worshippers. His custom was to always visit the synagogue in every town that he went to. However, there was no synagogue in Philippi, which would have meant that there were not sufficient Jewish men in the city to set up a synagogue. Did that mean that the Holy Spirit had made a mistake by leading him to go there? Not at all for the Holy Spirit did have a group of worshippers in that city He had chosen for Paul to minister to. But these worshippers could not establish a synagogue according to Jewish Traditions because they were women. Nevertheless, these women loved God and wanted to come together for prayer and worship so they met at the river. And the Holy Spirit led Paul to these women as you can read in Acts 16:13-14

On the Sabbath day we went outside 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 Thyatira, who was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message.

We may not realise the tremendous change that had taken place in Paul's life since his Damascus experience as you can read in Acts 9:1-5

Saul (Paul) was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jersualem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?" "Who are You, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting," He replied.

Because of this real change, Paul was now willing to speak to these women at the river. Before his conversion, he had been a very zealous Phrisee as you can know from Philippians 3:5

"Circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee"

And Pharisees did not communicate with women. But here we find Paul preaching the good news of Jesus Christ to a group of women. And the Holy Spirit used the words of Paul to touch the heart of at least one woman in particular; a business woman named Lydia. And that day she became a follower of Jesus. Moreover, she opened her home to Paul and his companions so they had a place to stay while ministering in Philippi as you can read in Acts 16:15

When she and the members of her household were baptised, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord. she said, "Come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.

Paul knew this ministry in Philippi had not yet ended. So every day he and Silas would go out and share the good news of Jesus Christ whenever they had the opportunity.

Read Part Three HERE

 

A CALL TO MACEDONIA: LYDIA P/1

  

                                     

A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                     PART XVI - I

"You will remember that Barnabas and I, Paul, recently decided to go our separate ways... Barnabas took Mark with him... I trust the Lord will bless their ministry... I have taken Silas with me as well as a young disciple named Timothy... He is becoming like a son to me.... We tried to enter certain regions.... But we were prevented by the Holy Spirit to go there... We do not know why this is ...However, we know as well that we are not to return home... So we continued to seek the Lord as to where He wanted us to go....Last night the Lord gave me a vision... In that vision I saw a man of Macedonia... He spoke to me... His words were very urgent...  He asked us to come to Madeconia to help them.... I then woke up... It is clear to me that we are to go to Macedonia.... I do not know who will be there or to whom our ministry will be.. But one thing is clear.... We are to go to Macedonia.... So we will leave in  the morning for Phillipi, the capital city of Macedonia.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn how the Lord led Paul to go to Macedonia through a vision...

                 ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                              PART XVI - I

Thankfully, God continued to bless the ministries of both Barnabas and Paul after their disagreement. They both chose new partners to minister with. Paul took Silas with him and later on a young disciple named Timothy joined them as you can read in Acts 16:1-3

He (Paul) came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciples named Timothy lived,  whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

They tried to enter certain regions but the Holy Spirit stopped them as you can read in Acts 16:6-7

Paul and his companions travelled throughout the region og Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When thy came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them.

We don't know why the Holy Spirit did not allow them to go to these areas at that time for He did not tell them why this was so. It seems Paul did not question the Holy Spirit as to why they were not allowed to go to these places; they simply obeyed by not going.

At the same time Paul knew he should not just go home for he was called to preach the gospel. It did not take too long before he discovered which place he was to go to as you can read in Acts 16:9-10

During the night Paul had a vision of a man of 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.

Having shown Paul where he was not to go, the Holy Spirit next showed him where he was to go; he was to go to Macedonia. Having been given direction, Paul and his companions set off for their destination, Phillipi, which was the leading city of Macedonia.

We have here once again an example of someone obeying the Holy Spirit even when it may not have made sense to him. It reminds us of the example of Philip when he was told to leave his very successful ministry in Samaria to go to a particular road in the desert when he met with just one person in a chariot as you can read in Acts 8:26-29

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road - the desert road - that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. So he started out, and on his way he met and Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."

These examples are for us to learn from, for the Holy Spirit wants to guide us as much as He guided them. The question is: Are we as willing to listen and obey even if His direction does not make sense to us? Or are we more likely to put up an argument and follow our own counsel for it may seem to be more logical to us to go the way we have decided?

Read Part Two HERE

A DISAGREEMENT: MARK P/2

 

                                       

                                                                               Read Part One HERE

A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS 

                      PART XV - VI

"It is a sad day for me, Paul, for Barnabas and I have separated.... It is not what I wanted.... But I think that under the circumstances it is better for us to go our separate ways... I trust the Lord will continue to bless both our ministries.... It may just be that we cannot agree because we have different gifts... Barnabas is a great encourager as I well know.... After all, he was the one who was not afraid of me when I first arrived in Jerusalem... And he came to look for me when I was in Tarsus.... But I know I am to be focused on the ministry the Lord has given me... That means I need people with me who are as committed as I am... I don't believe Mark has that ability... Of course, I may be wrong.... Only time will tell.... In the meantime Iwill take Silas with me... We will soon leave.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn the reasons why Paul and Barnabas may have had such a sharp disagreement....

                  ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS     

                                                              PART XV - VI

The disagreement between Paul and Barnabas may have happened in part because of their particular personalities and giftings. Paul was very focused on his ministry and he could not afford to have someone on his team he could not rely on. Barnabas' special gift was that of encouraging others as you can know from Acts 9:23-27

After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him (Paul), but Saul (Paul) learned of their plans. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the Apostles. He told them how Saul (Paul) on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.

And Acts 11:25

Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul (Paul).

And Mark was a relative of Barnabas as you can know from Colossians 4:10

"My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him)."

Vere likely, that is why Barnabas wanted to give Mark another change, but Paul did not want to risk it. However, Barnabas did the right thing by taking Mark with him for eventually he proved very helpful to Paul as you can know from 2 Timothy 4:22 where Paul wrote:

"Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry."

And Mark is the author of the Gospel of Mark.

Thankfully, God continued to bless the ministries of Paul and Barnabas, despite their disagreement. Both men ended up selecting their own partner to travel with. In the case of Paul, he had Silas travel with him.

A DISAGREEMENT: MARK P/1

   

                                      

A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                      PART XV - V

"Barnabas and I, Paul, returned to Antioch after our visit to Jerusalem... We shared the guidelines from the Jerusale Council with the church... We remained in Antioch for quite a while... However, eventually Barnabas and I began to talk about another mission trip... Because we wanted to encourage the believers in the various places.... Barnabas then told me he wanted to bring along Mark... I looked at Barnabas when he made that suggestion... I could not believe my ears... Could Barnabas be serious? Did he not remember that Mark had been with us some time ago but had left us halfway?....I could not have someone with me I could not rely on....But Barnabas could not see my point of view... I have to say, I do not understand why he does not think as I do."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn about the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas related to a young man named Mark...

                ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                     PART XV - V

Paul and Barnabas retured to Antioch from Jerusalem with the guidelines from the Jerusalem Council. However, sometime later Paul and Barnabas decided to go on another trip to visit believers in various places. Barnabas wanted to take a young believer called Mark along. He had been with them on a previous trip but had left them halfway as you can know from Acts 13:13

From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John (Mark) left them to return to Jerusalem.

Therefore, Paul did not think it was wise to take him with them as you can know from Acts 15:36-40

Sometime later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing." Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas could not come to an agreement as to what to do with Mark so they separated.

Read Part Two HERE

THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL: PAUL P/4

 

                                     
                                                                                    Read Part One HERE

A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                       PART XV - IV

" I, James, began to address the meeting of the apostles and the elders of the church in Jerusalem... While speaking, I looked at their faces.... I could see they were ready to hear from me what I was going to suggest... So I went ahead... I explained in more details what I thought would be helpful guidelines for the Gentile believers... I could see that everyone agreed with my proposals.... For they could see the leading of the Holy Spirit in what I suggested....... We then prepared a letter to be taken to the church in Antioch... I believe this letter will be very helpful for the Gentile believers today."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn of the suggestions James made related to Gentile believers....

                     ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                    PART XV - IV

All those present at the meeting of the apostles and elders in Jerusalem would have continued to listen very carefully to the next words of James for these words would help them know what exactly he meant when the said that the church should not make it difficult for Gentiles to turn to God. And could they agree with what he was going to propose? So far they were in agreement with what he had said. But they did not as yet know if they could be in agreement with his final proposal. So they waited for him to reveal the specific details he had in mind for the Gentile believers. They did not have to wait long as you can read in Acts 15:20

"Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled aimals and from blood."

The whole meeting recognised the wisdom of James, no doubt, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and accepted his proposal. A letter was then prepared with these guidelines in mind and this letter was sent to the church at Antioch where it was received with gladness as you an read in Acts 15:30-31

So the men were sent of and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message.

This letter still affects us today as believers for all of us here are Gentile believers. And aren't we grateful that we do not have to follow the Mosaic Law in order to be pleasing to God?

      

THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL: PAUL P/3

 

                                                                                    Read Part One HERE

A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                     PART XV- III 

 "We, the apostles and elders of the church in Jerusalem, have been having lengthy discussions  today... These discussions were related to the issue whether or not Gentile believers should obey the law of Moses in order to be saved...Peter shared from his experience at the home of the Roman Centurion, Cornelius... And Barnabas and Paul shared how God had been at work among the Gentiles using them... Then I, James, in my role as moderator of the meeting stood up... I knew it was time for me to speak... I had begun to realise that the words of the prophets of the past were being fulfilled as they relate to Gentiles.... Therefore, we should not make too many rules for the Gentile believers... I knew that my fellow Jewish believers needed to let these words sink in before I could continue with my suggestions... So I paused before continuing my speech.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn of James' referral to the prophecy of Amos as it related to the issue the church was dealing with...

                  ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS

                                                      PART XV - III

 After Barnabas and Paul had shared form their experiences at the meeting of the leaders of the church in Jerusalem, James stood up and began to speak as you can read in Acts 15:13

When they had finsihed, James spoke up. "Brothers," he said, "listen to me."

With these words he would have gotten the attention of everyone at the meeting. He then continued by saying the following as you can read in Acts 15:14-18

"Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for His name from the Gentiles. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written, "After this I will returrn and rebuild David's fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear My Name," says the Lord, who does these things - things knows from long ago."

This is a reference to Amos 9:11-12

"In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will restore its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear My name," declares the Lord who will do these things."

No doubt, James would have paused a moment to let what he had said sink in before continuing with his conclusion, which you can read about in Acts 15:19

"It is my judgement, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God."

Read Part Four HERE