“Fly High” Acts part 14
On the Lighter side of life: See e-mail pictures
Opening Illustration:
Video Illustration from Blue Fish TV on what it means to be ordinary or extraordinary.
Scripture Text: Acts 16
1He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. 2The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3Paul 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. 4As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
6Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10After 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.
11From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis. 12From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
13On the Sabbath 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. 14One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15When she and the members of her household were baptized, 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.
16Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled 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.
19When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
22The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. 23After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. 27The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.
35When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” 36The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”
37But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”
38The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 40After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they left.
Thesis: The book of Acts is about how we as followers of the Lord need the power and the influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. When we receive the promise and allow Him to guide us then the church grows daily.
Introduction:
In our text Acts 16 today we get insight into the day and the life of an extraordinary witness for Jesus. This chapter is filled with insight and actions of what an extraordinary Christian looks like and even acts like. These men and women here are revealing to us what it means to be extraordinary for Jesus. They were doing their best to be Christ like in a society that was not Christ like and in all reality it was actually anti-Christ.
We are told in Ephesians 5:1 that we are imitate Jesus and I believe the best way to fly high in the Spirit for Jesus is to learn from the Acts New Testament Church about how to fly high in the way of the Spirit. We fly high by allowing the Holy Spirit to live in us and to direct us in the things of the Lord. The Holy Spirit was sent by Jesus to empower us for the work of the ministry, and to be witnesses for Jesus Christ all over this world.
Horton notes:
The book of Acts begins by drawing attention to the fact that the work of Jesus was continued by the Spirit first through the apostles. But the apostles are not really dominant in the Book of Acts. The Holy Spirit is. Jesus dominates the Gospels, and in comparison, little is said about the Spirit. But in the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit is indeed another Comforter, Helper, and Teacher. Everything in the lives and preaching of the apostles and early believers still centered in Jesus as their living Savior and exalted Lord. The program to extend the gospel to the uttermost part of the earth is Christ’s program (1:8). The power to do it is the power of the Spirit, and this is not different from the power of Christ. Yet, there is running throughout the Book a new awareness of the Holy Spirit. It came, not only from their initial Pentecostal experience, but from daily consciousness of the presence, guidance, and fellowship of the Spirit and from many special manifestations of His power. Their baptism in the spirit never became a mere memory of something that happened in the distant past. It was an ever-present reality (135)…
From the Day of Pentecost on we see the Holy Spirit active in the life of the church-in teaching, in miracles, in further fillings, and new baptizings, but above all in the work of spreading the gospel and establishing the Church (148).
The Book of Acts is really not about what the Apostles did but what the Holy Spirit accomplished through the Apostles and the followers of Jesus Christ’s lives. The dominant focus of Acts is not the Acts of mankind but the working and empowering of the Holy Spirit to build the church of Jesus Christ. It’s the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to use us to do ministry.
T.S. - In our text today we are introduced to another famous disciple Timothy – Timothy’s mom is Jewish and his father is Greek and Paul recruits him for the work of the Lord and interestingly he circumcises him. Why? Let’s look at our text and learn 7 ministry lessons from Paul, Silas and Timothy.
The spiritual lessons from Acts 16:
I. Don’t be a stumbling block for others.
a. Timothy/Paul and the issue of circumcision.
b. Paul and plus Timothy himself chose to follow his Jewish heritage and to be circumcised. Why? Would it save him? No, he did it because he did not want to be a stumbling block to the Jewish community he would be preaching and ministering too.
i. This concept is foreign in our self-centered mindsets of today.
ii. We immediately think – let them be offended I am not changing anything about me!
iii. The truth is it’s all about me – isn’t it?
iv. Illustration of Song
c. Paul stated, 1 Corinthians 10:18 -11:1: “31So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—33even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. 11:1Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”
i. Christ would not intentionally try to offend people. Paul knew the importance of doing certain things for the sake of others so that they would get saved.
T.S. – We need to be willing to not be a stumbling block to other believers and non-believers.
II. Be led by the Holy Spirit.
a. We need to be asking the Holy Spirit where to go and where not go.
i. Seeking direction from the Holy Spirit is a wise way to live your life.
ii. We need to seek the direction or I could say the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Listen to these thoughts on guidance. I received this by e-mail from a friend this week:
1. Dancing With God
When I meditated on the word Guidance,
I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word.
I remember reading that doing God’s will is a lot like dancing.
When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.
The movement doesn’t flow with the music,
and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.
When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,
both bodies begin to flow with the music.
One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back
or by pressing lightly in one direction or another.
It’s as if two become one body, moving beautifully.
The dance takes surrender, willingness,
and attentiveness from one person
and gentle guidance and skill from the other.
My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.
When I saw "G: I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i".
"God, "u" and "i" dance."
God, you, and I dance.
As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust
that I would get guidance about my life.
Once again, I became willing to let God lead.
My prayer for you today is that God’s blessings
and mercies be upon you on this day and everyday.
May you abide in God as God abides in you.
Dance together with God, trusting God to lead
and to guide you through each season of your life.
This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached.
If God has done anything for you in your life,
please share this message with someone else,
for prayer is one of the best gifts we can receive.
There is no cost but a lot of rewards;
so let’s continue to pray for one another.
And I Hope You Dance!!!!!!!!
b. It’s important to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
c. There are times in my life where He has told me, “no” that is not the way to go.
i. To me these are critical moments in life.
ii. These are VIP moments of my life where I must learn to yield to the direction of the Holy Spirit.
1. I need to understand that I must do this even if I don’t have all my questions answered.
2. I have learned to trust the leading of the Holy Spirit.
3. The Holy Spirit is awesome at guiding and directing us.
d. We need to realize that the Holy Spirit does hear people’s prayers.
i. Paul had a vision of a man praying and the Holy Spirit directed Paul to go to that place rather than the other place.
ii. We need to understand that when the Holy Spirit directs us to place different than where we are going then we must understand He knows best.
T.S. - We need to make sure that we allow the Holy Spirit to led and guide us as we do the work of the Lord and just live life. But we also must be prepared to make the most of every God given opportunity.
III. Be prepared to make the most of every God given opportunity.
a. Paul went to pray and instead preached the truth to a few women and some got saved.
i. Paul wanted to pray and he ended up preaching to a bunch of women.
ii. We have to be flexible in this faith walk and in the ministry because sometimes we may have a right motive like to pray but then God says don’t pray – preach!
1. Believe it or not there is a time to pray and there is time to preach and witness about the Lord.
2. We need to make sure that we know what time it is.
b. It’s important for us to realize that the Lord is the one who opens the hearts of people when you present the message.
i. It’s important in this chapter to point out that the Lord opened up these women’s hearts and their family’s hearts – the time was right and the iron was hot so the Lord touched them through the words of Paul.
ii. They believed and where baptized.
iii. Then because of what the Lord had done she opened up her heart and home to the apostles.
c. Too many people squander their God moments in their lives.
i. Result is they miss the blessings of the Lord.
T.S. – We need to be prepared at any moment to share the truth of the Gospel even if it interferes with our plans. The key is to listen to the Holy Spirit and obey His directions each moment of our day.
IV. Be prepared to pay a personal price for doing ministry.
a. Especially when it affects the pocket book of the world.
b. If they persecuted the Lord then realize that since you represent Him then you will be persecuted as well.
i. Some will have you thrown into court.
ii. Some will riot against you.
iii. Some will strip off your clothes to humiliate you.
iv. Some will have you beaten and flogged.
v. Some will throw you into prison.
vi. Some will mistreat you.
c. Being a witness for Jesus is not a trip to Disney world. It marks you and because of who you have aligned yourself with some will be furious with you.
i. Share the story about the radio stations complaints from some in the community. They do not like the reference to Christianity in its news.
ii. The world does not like any reference to the Jesus because it bothers them. It eats at their lives and makes them feel uncomfortable.
T.S. – We must prepare ourselves for persecution because it is normal-- not abnormal to be persecuted for standing up for the truth of the Gospel.
V. When you are persecuted for doing the work of ministry keep your focus.
a. When in chains for the Gospel we must continue with our prayers. When in chains for the Gospel we must continue to worship God.
i. These two actions will help you to stay focused on the big picture and not on your small problems.
b. Others will be watching to see how you react in these difficult times so be a good example for the kingdom.
i. The men in the jail were watching and observing Paul and Silas and they handle their situation correctly and the others were amazed.
ii. Remember many people are observing your life and they are watching to see how you handle the difficulties of life.
c. Illustration:
i. Mark Batterson notes this illustration about the power of focus:
1. This week I read about a fascinating research study done by Vicki Medvec, a professor at Northwestern University. She studies Olympic medalists and she discovered that Bronze medalists were happier than Silver medalists. Here’s why. Medvec found that Silver medalists tended to focus on how close they came to winning gold so they weren’t satisfied with silver. Bronze medalists tended to focus on how close they came to not winning a medal at all so they were just happy to be on the medal stand at all. Batterson states, “I think that study reveals a fascinating facet of human nature: your focus determines your reality. How we feel isn’t determined by objective circumstances. If that was the case, Silver Medalists would be happier than Bronze medalists because they had objectively better result. But how we feel isn’t determined by our objective circumstances. How we feel is determined by our subjective focus. Here’s another way of saying it: your internal attitudes are more important than your external circumstances. John Milton said it best: “The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a Heaven out of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.”
2. He adds “Worship is zooming out and refocusing on the big picture.”
d. Paul and Silas had the right focus even after being beaten and placed in jail and in stocks.
i. Let me ask you a question “How is your focus?”
T.S. – Keeping the right focus through difficult circumstances is a key in being able to persevere through hardship. Paul and Silas were able to keep praying and even enter into worship because of their focus on the Lord. The right focus will always open the door for a miracle from God.
VI. When God does miracles be prepared to point to the miracle worker.
a. Always be ready to share the truth with the loss at the moment a miracle happens.
i. Miracles are produced by God for the purpose of bringing people into His Kingdom so always be ready to share the Truth at the conception of a miracle.
ii. Be ready to share your faith when the door opens up.
iii. Be ready to lead a person to salvation.
b. Paul tells us to be ready in season and out to present the truth of the Gospel.
i. 2 Timothy 4:2: “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction.”
ii. Paul gave this charge to Timothy- it is also a charge to the Body of Christ today:
1. The Holy Bible, New International Version. Pradis CD-ROM:2Ti 4:1. 2Ti 4:1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Ti 4:2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage —with great patience and careful instruction. 2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 2Ti 4:4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 2Ti 4:5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
T.S. – We need to make the most of miracles and make sure we point the finger to the source of all miracles. We also need to be prepared to share our testimony to the Body of Christ so as to encourage them.
VII. When you are delivered be ready to encourage the Body of Christ with your testimony.
a. Revelation tells us that they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.
i. So make sure you use the testimony that the Lord has given you because it will encourage those going through tough times.
ii. Revelation 12:11 “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”
b. Paul left the city in daylight escorted by the judges and officials and before he left he went to Lydia’s house to encourage the believers and to testify to what the Lord had done at the jail the night before.
Conclusion: So what have we learned today?
Review:
1.Don’t be the stumbling block for someone.
2.Be led by the Holy Spirit
3.Make the most of every God given opportunity.
4.Be willing to pay the price
5.Keep your focus when persecuted
6. When the miracle comes point the people to Jesus the miracle creator.
7. When you have a testimony tell everyone else about it.
Video Illustration: From Blue Fish TV
Close with the testimony of Caedmon’s Call about each of us being called to be a witness for Jesus!
