Acts 16:6-34
Christianity Today Survey:
“I believe every Christian has a responsibility to share their faith.” (64% of Christians agreed)
“I actively seek or create opportunities to share my faith.” (19% of Christians agreed)
Main Idea: God’s mission to save a diverse people is accomplished through divine encounters and opportunities to share the gospel.
I. The Mission is Directed by God (16:6-10)
How the missionaries were specifically “forbidden by the Holy Spirit” on their travel plans is unclear, but the principle is clear: God had other plans for them at this time. Strategy, rationale, and logic are important in seeking to share the gospel, but everything must be submitted to God’s sovereign plan and direction.
After shutting doors, God clearly opens one through the vision of the Macedonian man asking for help. The priority is also placed on the fact that “God has called us to preach the gospel to them.” The group understands that the greatest need for those in Macedonia is the good news about Jesus. The church can & should be doing a lot of good things on mission, but gospel proclamation must be the priority.
This is all a reminder that the mission is ultimately God’s work. This means 2 things for us:
The pressure is off. We are called & invited to participate, but ultimately God is the one who is directing and bringing about salvation.
We should be seeking to follow his leading and prompting. Visions like this are not the norm for the Christian life, though God is free to act in this way. However, God has given us his Spirit, his word, prayer, and community. Are we using these means of grace to actively engage seek his will and follow his leading?
Colossians 4:2-4: Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
II. The Mission is Driven by Divine Encounters (16:11-34)
As the missionaries land in Philippi, God orchestrates 3 divine and opportunistic encounters:
1. Lydia (16:11-15)
There does not appear to be a Jewish synagogue in Philippi, so the group finds a prayer meeting with a group of women. Luke describes Lydia as a ‘worshiper of God,’ a technical term denoting a Gentile who believed in God but had not become Jewish.
As they were having a conversation about the gospel, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” Our role in the mission is always to bear witness to the gospel, while God must open the heart to believe. God is the one who saves and who changes our hearts to respond to the good news of Jesus.
Lydia’s response indicates the genuineness of her faith: She is baptized (along with her household) and then opens her home. There is a beautiful simplicity in her response that the Lord calls each of us to. “Once the heart is opened, the home is opened too.” ~ John Stott
2. A Slave Girl (16:16-18)
As Paul and his companions were continuing in Philippi, a slave girl with a “spirit of divination” starts following them around for days. The evil spirit is communicating the truth about the identity & work of the group, but was seeking to discredit their message and reputation.
After Paul rebukes the spirit and it comes out of the girl, her owners stir up trouble for the missionaries. The girl likely would have been abandoned by her owners & welcomed into the new church community in Philippi.
3. A Roman Jailor (16:25-34)
Despite their difficult situation, Paul & Silas are “praying and singing hymns to God” while imprisoned, so that all may hear them. Gospel joy in the face of sorrow & adversity will always be a powerful picture of the gospel.
God sovereignly causes an earthquake which opens all the doors of the prison and all of the bonds of the prisoners to break lose. But rather than escaping, Paul & Silas remain, seeking an opportunistic encounter with the jailor, remain in the prison and gain the opportunity to share the gospel with him.
The jailor realizes the grace of Paul and Silas (and the other prisoners) not escaping, he cries out, “What must I do to be saved?” They tell him of the good news of the gospel and he responds in the same way as Lydia: he is baptized and opens his home for them, rejoicing in his new faith in Jesus.
Application: Recognizing that God sets up divine and opportunistic encounters, we can intentionally position ourselves so that God can use us to start gospel conversations.
“God isn’t necessarily looking for us to try harder or add more ministry demands on our lives. He wants us to walk in greater awareness and dependency on him in the everyday stuff of life and engage what we we’re already doing with gospel intentionality. This isn’t additional; this is intentional. It’s not about adding more to our busy lives, it’s about engaging all of life for his glory. It’s about fully realizing we have his power because he is present in us and in all we do.” ~ Jeff Vanderstelt
III. The Mission is Defined by Unity & Diversity
The diversity of people that make up the first church in Philippi is shocking. The missionaries, Lydia, the slave girl, and the Roman jailor were all different racially, socially, and spiritually.
Despite all of these differences, they are all saved by the same gospel and welcomed into the same church. These people who had no earthly reason to be in relationship with one another are now unified by the blood of Jesus, becoming brothers and sisters in Christ.
“Ideally the church itself is not made up of natural "friends." It is made up of natural enemies. What binds us together is not common education, common race, common income levels, common politics, common nationality, common accents, common jobs, or anything of the sort. Christians come together, not because they form a natural collocation, but because they have been saved by Jesus Christ and owe him a common allegiance… In this light, they are a band of natural enemies who love one another for Jesus’ sake.” ~ D.A. Carson:
Galatians 3:28: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
