Acts 16:1-10 – Paul’s Second Mission
Journey Begins
Paul had the
heart of evanglism. He not only shared
the gospel with the people, but wanted to go back to visit the towns to
encourage and lead the people to be disciples.
He knew shallow faith would not sustain them. There had been a disagreement between Paul
and Barnabas over Mark. Paul felt Mark
was unreliable since he had deserted them in the past and didn’t want to take
him with them on the journey. Barnabas
wanted to take him, because he believed in giving second chances. It’s a good thing God gives us second chances
– even third and fourth chances. The
actions of both men ultimately moved God’s work forward spreading the gospel
twice as fast to more people. Later Mark
proved himself to Paul by his ministry. He
also wrote the Book of Mark.
Paul took Silas,
Timothy and Luke with him on his second missionary journey. We know Luke went because he wrote the book
of Acts and in 16:10 he says “… we got ready…” indicating he was with
them. How did the missionaries know
where to go? The Holy Spirit led
them (Acts 16:6-10). We learn God’s guidance when we listen to
Him. (Proverbs 3:6) “In all your ways
acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”
One way God
leads is by opening and closing doors.
Paul was confident in his calling and he didn’t stop his journey just
because the Holy Spirit would not allow them to enter Bithynia (Acts 16:7). God spoke to Paul in a vision calling him to
go to Macedonia. He surrendered to God’s
Spirit. Are you surrendering to God’s
Spirit? Sometimes God says “No”. Paul had that experience and was obedient.
Principle: God’s
way of leading is step by step.
Have you
experienced God opening and closing doors?
How alert are
you with the Holy Spirit’s leading?
Where do you
need God’s direction today? If Jesus is your Lord, all He asks is for you
to do the next right thing.
Acts 16:11-17 – 17:15 – Ministry in
Macedonia
When they
reached Philippi, they found Lydia and other women gathered there to listen to their
teachings. Lydia and her household
believed and were baptized.
Also at
Philippi, Paul and Silas met a slave girl who was possessed by evil spirits and
predicted the future. Paul knew this was
a danger to the word of God and commanded the evil spirit leave her. Where God is at work the enemy is on a mission. Satan can appear as an ally or with
attacks. When the owner of the slave
girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and
Silas and took them to the authorities.
They were beaten and put in prison.
Is there an
evil influence you need to get away from?
In prison they
didn’t complain to God. Instead they prayed
and sang hymns to God as the other prisoners listened. I can just picture Satan in a panic, because
he knew God was at work. Suddenly a
miracle happened. A violent earthquake
shook the prison and the doors were opened and all the chains became
loose. The jailer awoke and was going to
kill himself thinking the prisoners had escaped. When he turned on the lights, he saw Paul and
Barnabas still there and asked what to do to be saved. Acts 16:31
- “believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved
– you and your household.” This
doesn’t mean if you believe, your household will be saved. It means if you and you household believe,
all will be saved. The jailer was filled
with joy because he now believed in God.
This is an example of how God uses good out of evil and how blessings
can come through troubles. When the Holy
Spirit moves among people, there will be opposition by evil powers.
The jailor took
them to his house, fed them and cleaned their wounds. When morning came, the magistrates released them
and they were told to go in peace. Paul
reminded them he was a Roman citizen and they had no right to treat him that
way and they had broken the law.
Paul and
Barnabas left Philippi and went to Thessalonica then to Berea. In Berea they met with some of the same
similarities as in previous places. They
always went to preach in the synagogue.
Some people believed and some agitated the crowns and stirred up people.
There were some
differences though. There the people
received the message with great eagerness and even examined the scriptures to
see if what Paul said was the truth.
That’s a great lesson for us all.
We should examine God’s word for ourselves and not just take the word of
others as truth.
Principle: God
fulfills His plans in unexpected ways.
Acts 17:16-18:22 – Ministry in Athens and
Corinth
Paul then went
to Athens alone and waited for the others.
He was tired and greatly distressed.
His heart was probably crushed, because the city was full of idols. This was the greatest city in the world, but
the people were lost. They were atheists
and materialistic. They were probably
like the New Age movement today. The
people spent all their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to
the latest ideas. There was an altar
with an inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN
GOD. The Athenian people were
intellectuals and refused to accept the doctrine of the resurrection. When they heard about the resurrection, some
sneered, some refused the good news about Jesus and the resurrection; however
some wanted to hear more and some became followers.
Does that sound
like some people today? We all know
people who are very intelligent and think they don’t need God. They refuse to listen and accept the gospel.
Paul was
prepared and gave them a brilliant message that God was sovereign and in
control and that God commands they should repent. In Acts
16:24-31 Paul gives the message of the foundations of Christianity:
God is a living
person – verse 25.
God is not live
in temples built by hands, but He created everything – verse 24.
God controls the
universe – verse 24.
God controls
geographical boundaries – verse 26.
God overrules
historical events – verse 26.
God is not
distant from His creation, but near to each person – verse 27
God can never be
worshiped through statues or images – verse 29.
God commands
sinners to repent – verse 30.
God will judge
the world through Jesus Christ – verse 31.
Paul’s message
is a model for sharing the gospel. He
started on common ground meeting them with compassion and connecting with them. Then he focused on God and who He is, our
Creator and His supremacy. He shared the
truth about sin and that God’s grace is greater than sin. Then he told them to trust God for the
results.
Paul left Athens
and went to Corinth. Many of the women
were prostitutes and the city was considered “sin city”. There the Jews opposed him and became
abusive. Paul said “…. Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles”
(Acts 18:6). God encouraged Paul while he was in Corinth
by telling him “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do
not be silent. For I am with you, and no
one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city”
(Acts 18:9-10). God encourages us, too - through
scripture and through our Christian friends with support, their prayers, and
their encouraging words.
How prepared
and willing are you to speak to those around you?
How has His
word encouraged you?
Principle: God
leads those committed to His truth to places His truth is needed.
Join me here
next week for our study of the book of Acts. -- I
encourage you to trust in Jesus.
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