Guided to Suffering & Salvation (Acts 16)

• Today’s reflections from Acts chapter 16 address how the Holy Spirit led Paul into Philippi — into sufferings but also to show people the way of salvation through faith in Christ. 
• Acts 16 essentially has three main movements: (1) Paul finds Timothy (16:1-5); (2) The Macedonian Call (16:6-10); and (3) Paul and Silas in Philippi (16:11-40).  Their time in Philippi can be further broken into three sections – Preaching to Lydia (11-15); helping a slave girl, being beaten & arrested (16-24); and their time in jail, the earthquake, and their exit from Philippi (25-40).
  • This chapter is full of many wonderful things that are well worth our attention!  However, today’s episode will focus on lessons from the Holy Spirit leading Paul, Silas, and Timothy. 

Part 1: When God Closes the Door

• Paul’s driving passion was to share Christ with those who had not heard about Him.  He pressed into hard places.  He labored in synagogues to convince people that Jesus is the Christ.  He proclaimed Christ in the market places and by rivers to Gentiles.  He desired that all would hear — with the sure confidence that some would be be saved.
• We see a fascinating thing here in Acts 16.  Paul wanted to “speak the word in Asia” (that would have been going due West to cities like Ephesus and Thyatira).  However, we see that the Holy Spirit forbade them to go there.  Then they tried to go into Bithynia, but again, the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them (16:6-7). 
  • When you look at a map this is a narrow passage – it was as though the Lord had set a left and right guardrail to keep Paul on track.  Their option was to go down to Troas (16:8).  Rather than visiting all the churches from the first missionary journey – the Spirit took them on 400 mile journey — by foot — to Troas.
  • And then it happened — Paul has a clear vision in the night, a Macedonian man urging Paul, pleading with him – “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (16:9).  And read the response in verse 10:
    • “And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them” (Acts 16:10).
      • We see God speaking to people in visions throughout the book of Acts as well as elsewhere throughout the Scriptures — and usually it is to provoke action or inaction.  Consider Acts 9:10; 10:3; 12:9; 18:9 — or Genesis 15:1; 46:2; Exodus 3:3 to name a few.
      • Notice the use of the first person plural — “We” — suggests that Luke is now traveling with Paul on his journey
• Why did God have Paul and his traveling companions travel this route?  Why would he close the door to the places that Paul already knew?  I cannot help but see what happens in rest of the chapter as God maneuvering His servants to preach HIS Gospel to people in HIS timing.
  • In Paul’s mind, he desires to follow God and proclaim the Gospel
  • In God’s mind are people like Lydia, a slave girl, a jailer and his family
• And as application — are there things that you deeply desire and yet the door seems to keep closing?  You may have every reason as to why it is good and important and that it would honor God.  However, HIS plan is different and so the opportunity falls through.  And sometimes the Lord takes you on a long route that does not make sense to you.  But then you realize that it is not all about you — its about HIM!
  • Paul did not have the luxury of jumping to the end of the chapter to see the good that would come.  Instead, with a heart set on following the Spirit of the living God — with a strong sense of obeying HIM he begins a 400 mile trek.  And once they arrive at Troas, now this Macedonian man calls out for help — to Paul it must have been clear!  This is why I am not in Asia or Bithynia… God needs me to preach in Macedonia!

Part 2: When the Spirit Leads into Suffering

• Paul and his companions arrive in Macedonia, and go to Philippi where they proclaimed the Gospel.  The word says that “The Lord opened [Lydia’s] heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul” (16:14).  And after this, she, and her whole household, was baptized.  What encouragement — surely this is the start of what good things God would do in Macedonia and why Paul couldn’t go other places…
• What is next?  In short, they help a slave girl who “had a spirit of divination” (16:16) — and her masters were using that to make a lot of money.  But Paul, in the name of Jesus Christ, commanded that spirit to come of the girl.  Her masters were really not happy that their money maker was gone and so they had them thrown in prison!
  • Think about this — rather than rejoicing that an evil spirit was not longer possessing this girl, they were angry.
• Well, Paul and Silas were stripped, and beaten with rods with many blows and then thrown in prison.
  • Would they still have the same confidence in God leading them?  Had he not just led them into humiliation, physical beatings and imprisonment?
  • Yes.  Yes — but their pain has a purpose.
• As we see in the rest of the narrative, through a miraculous event, God not only uses their sufferings, but also an earthquake to get the attention of a jailer.  His whole house also would be saved and baptized through the preaching of the Gospel through these broken vessels.
  • I want to draw your attention to this: Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God in the middle of the night.  Perhaps like the Apostles in Acts 5 – they were rejoicing to be counted worthy to suffer for the name (Acts 5:41).
  • Friend – in your life, if you are seeking to walk with God, and you are living “on mission” for Him — when you encounter sufferings — you can have that clear sense that your suffering is for Him.  And what a joy to know that when you encounter that suffering it was brought to you be the very hand that will save you.
    • You may not see the results of your suffering for years — or potentially even in your lifetime (consider Stephen’s suffering) — but know this: there is not one pain or sorrow or tear which God wastes.  He is drawing people unto Himself to save them from everlasting torment — and if we must suffer temporarily that they may be saved…  let us behold all things with eternity stamped upon our eyeballs! 

Conclusion & Application:

• Friend, as we bring this episode to a close, I want to remind you of a Psalm you may know very well: Psalm 23.
  • We are always grateful and rejoicing at the green pastures and still waters.  Then we see in verse 3, the Lord leads us in paths of righteousness for HIS name’s sake.
    • Keep this in mind — for whose name’s sake?  Is your relationship with God more about you or about the One you are following?
  • Where do these paths of righteousness take us?  “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death” (23:4).  Or we might say another way of translating the Hebrew – through “the deepest, darkest, most dangerous valley” … where does following God take us?
    • Sometimes walking with the Shepherd of our souls means following Him to those deep dark valleys — but we can fear no evil.  Why?  Because our Shepherd went before us — Christ endured the valley and rose victorious — and so shall His precious sheep!
    • When following Jesus leads us into those valleys — may we, like Paul and Silas, be found praising God in our sleepless nights.
• My friend, do you have a walk with the Savior that holds HIM as more precious that your temporary, frail and fragile life on this earth?  When there are men and women who take hold of this vision and take seriously the calling to take the Gospel to those world, it will be an unstoppable force!  

• I would like to invite you to follow this Savior… crazy as it may sound, to follow him even in the deepest, darkest valleys — why?  Because He is worth it.

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