A Little Girl In Philippi

A LITTLE GIRL IN PHILIPPI

TEXT:

Acts 16:16-18

INTRODUCTION:

A. WHO WAS INTERESTED IN THIS LITTLE GIRL?

1. This little girl was possessed by a demon and possessed by merchants.

2. She obviously had a Momma and a Daddy.

3. However, nothing is ever said about them.

4. It seems that they were inconsequential to her life.

5. She didn’t seem to matter to them.

6. Evidently, they had abandoned her.

7. The only ones interested in her were demons and merchants.

B. THE SEVEN SONS OF JOHNS

My wife tells the story of a young woman who brought seven little boys into the clinic. They ranged in ages from 3 to 10 years old. She discovered that they were all named John. My wife said, "Doesn’t that cause some difficulties for you?" The woman said, No, that it was actually very convenient because all she had to do when it was supper time was just call for John and they would all come to the table. My wife said, "But what do you do if you only want one of them to come for something? How do you tell them apart?" The woman said, "Oh, that’s real easy. You see, they all have different last names…"

C. DOES MOM REALLY KNOW?

A little boy asked, "Mom, marriage makes you have babies, doesn’t it?" The mom hesitantly answered, "Well, not necessarily. Just because you are married doesn’t necessarily mean that you get pregnant." The boy continued with his questions, "Then how do you get pregnant?"

The mom was a little embarrassed and not sure what to say next. She said, "It’s kind of hard to explain." At this, the boy thought for a moment, then he tilted his head a little to the side as he looked his mother straight in the eyes and said, "You really don’t know how it works, do you, Mom?"

D. I’VE WANTED TO ASK THIS OF SOME PARENTS

1. I’ve wanted to say, "You really don’t know what causes kids do you?"

2. It seems that they would either learn to love them and take care of them, or else they would just stop having kids if they knew what caused them.

3. This little demon possessed girl seems to have been abandoned by her parents.

I. POSSESSED BY A DEMON

"…a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us…" (v.16)

A. SHE WAS JUST A LITTLE GIRL

1. Strong’s defines the Greek word here as "a young girl, a damsel, a maid-servant, or a young female slave."

2. The word is a compound of the Greek word, paidia, which means "child."

3. She was just a little girl!

B. BUT, SHE WAS DEMON POSSESSED

1. The Bible itself says that she was demon possessed.

2. The Bible further states that she was a soothsayer or fortune-teller.

3. She had a familiar spirit or a demon.

4. They would use her for fortunetelling.

5. The Greek word is python, that’s the devil inside of her giving her knowledge about things.

6. Just because somebody gives you your name and address, you think they’re of God?

7. If you don’t know your own name and address, you need to be prayed for anyway.

8. So just because somebody has some knowledge doesn’t mean that they are of God.

C. DEMONS WILL USE ANYONE TO DISCREDIT GOD

1. I’ve seen little children that could give details of things they never saw.

2. Their parents were into witchcraft and divination and the children were turned over to be demon possessed by these familiar spirits.

3. They could accuratedly describe events from before they were born.

4. There were many who claimed that this proved reincarnation.

5. It didn’t prove anything to me except the fact that the child had a demon just like this little servant girl in Philippi.

6. When you pray over them in the name of Jesus, they get delivered from such things.

7. This little girl was being used and abused.

8. She was being used by demons and she was being used by merchants who wished to make merchandise of her.

II. POSSESSED BY MERCHANTS

"…a certain damsel… which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying…" (v.16)

A. SOME SEE THEIR CHILDREN AS MERE POSSESSIONS

1. Some attempt to live out their fantasies through their children.

2. They PUSH their children to excel at sports.

3. Winning is everything for these parents.

4. I will admit, winning is more fun than losing, but winning isn’t everything.

5. I was more proud of my kids when someone told me that they were the most well mannered and courteous team at a BQ match earlier this year, than when they won it all in the state finals.

6. What good is a soccer trophy or a BQ trophy 50 years from now?