CALL TO CONFESSION

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Lord Jesus Christ, fill us with your Spirit today. We are running this race loaded down with sinful desires, idolatrous hearts, and mountains of guilt and shame that we pile on ourselves and each other. We confess to you that our frantic activity springs more from strategies of self-salvation than from real sorrow over sin and love for you. Our running takes us far away from the forgiveness, peace, and rest you freely give us. Train our hearts to run to you instead of away from you. Forgive us for all our desperate attempts to save ourselves.

Fill us with your Spirit so that we become preoccupied with his work and presence. Send Him to open our blind eyes and make us see your will, your heart, your beauty, and your glory. May he give us faith to see our names engraved on your hands, our souls redeemed by your blood, and our mountains of sin leveled by your life of pure obedience. Send him to search our hearts to show us our own deceitfulness and helplessness so that we will hate our sin, run to you, and rest on you as the beginning and end of our salvation.

Wonderful Savior, we long to worship you with pure hearts and lives, yet we continue to sin. We will never escape our deep need for your mercy; help us to cherish it richly and transform us by it. Make your love and kindness captivate our minds and imaginations, strengthen our weak faith, and motivate us to leave behind the sins that so easily entangle us. You have won the race for us; now run it with us day by day, moment by moment, and fix our eyes on you instead of on ourselves. For yours is the majesty, the glory, and the kingdom forever and ever, Amen.

“Take a few moments to personally confess your sins to the Lord.”

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

“Hear these words of comfort and assurance.” 

Hebrews 10:19-22

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

• Have you noticed how people respond so differently to the same message of the gospel of Jesus Christ? 
• For some it’s life and joy. For others, it's offense and anger. 
• In our passage today, we see these same kinds of responses. 
• The gospel comes to Philippi and three scenes unfold:
• A wealthy woman’s heart is opened to the good news
• A slave girl tormented by evil spirits is set free 
• And preachers of the gospel are beaten and imprisoned.  
• These things remind us that when the gospel breaks in, nothing is left unchanged. 
• The gospel saves the sinner, sets the captive free, and stirs up the world’s hatred. 

Acts 16:11-24

So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. 13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

• In our last message, we saw how through both closed and opened doors, the Holy Spirit actively directed the missionary endeavor. 
• The ministry team set sail for the region of Macedonia. 
• The text says they, “made a direct voyage.” A sign of God’s providential direction after so many closed doors.

PHILIPPI 

• Philippi was no ordinary city. 
• It was a leading city in the district of Macedonia.
• It was a Roman colony.  Philippi was Rome in miniature, an outpost of the empire where Roman law, language and culture reigned.
• Paul now finds himself closer than ever before to the center of earthly government. The gospel is moving closer and closer to the seat of power in Rome. 

GOD OPENED LYDIA’S HEART

• Now, it was Paul’s pattern to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, the good news is proclaimed among the Jews first. 
• But the synagogue is noticeably absent in Philippi. 
• They go outside the gate to the riverside, where they supposed there was a place of prayer and there they find women who had come together. 
• So they share the good news with these God-fearing women. 
• The first person that is highlighted in the missionary endeavor in Philippi was Lydia. 
• She was from the city of Thyatira, in Asia Minor, known for its dye industry.
• She was a businesswoman, a seller of purple goods. These were considered luxury products thus making Lydia wealthy and well-connected. 
• And she was a worshiper of God.
• Lydia had wealth and status but none of those things could earn her salvation or favor with God. 

• Notice v14, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.”
• This is salvation! Paul preached the good news, but it was God who opened her heart so that she could have spiritual hearing to receive and believe the good news. 
• Salvation is not a human endeavor. It is God’s gracious work. 
• God’s grace is sufficiently effective to draw and open the human heart to Christ. 

• Lydia was a religious and moral person, but until the Lord opened her heart, she remained blind to the truth.
• Preachers can preach. Parents can instruct. But only God can open the heart. 
• It is the Spirit who calls, draws, and enlivens.  
• John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.
• And that is what happened with Lydia. And she believed and was baptized, together with her household.

• It is through the foolishness of the preaching of the cross that is the means by which people hear the good news. 
• The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. (Rom. 1:16)
• If you’re not yet a Christian. Listen to the gospel being preached. Ask God to open your heart and do his gracious work of salvation in you that you may believe and confess Jesus is Lord. 
• Pray for lost loved ones, friends and co-workers. Don’t give up. You cannot open the heart, but God can and does. Keep praying and proclaiming the good news. 

• Lydia urged the ministry team to stay at her house. 
• The Lord opened her heart and Lydia opened her home in hospitality. 
• What a response to grace. 
• Your home is a place for mission and ministry.  We should all seek to practice hospitality in order to serve the saints and the church. 

• This may seem like a trivial anecdote to you but consider what happened in Philippi through one open heart and one open home. 
• The Spirit of Christ established an outpost of the kingdom in the outpost of Rome. 
• The gospel gained a foothold for its advance. 
• All because of the generosity and hospitality of Lydia, whose heart was opened by the Lord.

• On another Sabbath, they are heading to the place of prayer, and they are encountered by a young slave girl who was under the grip of demonic oppression. 
• Two things we’re told about her:
• First, she had a spirit of divination. Literally a ‘python spirit’ 
• This girl was oppressed or tormented by an evil spirit. 
• Second, she was a slave who was exploited by her owners for profit.  
• She was doubly oppressed, by a demon, and by her owners. 
• We were given Lydia’s name, occupation, background, we know she was wealthy, had a home, and we know that she has a new Lord—Jesus Christ. 
• But this slave girl is anonymous and owns nothing. She is under the control of another lord.
• Satan’s work is to distort, deform, enslave, and kill. 
• Jesus said the devil’s character is deformed: he is the father of lies, a murderer who does not stand in the truth. (John 8:44)
• His only purpose is to steal and kill and destroy (John 10:10).

• This girl followed Paul and his team for many days, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 
• What she said was technically true.
• But we have to question, why would a demonically oppressed individual engage in evangelism? 
• Because we know that Satan is behind this, we can rightly assume it is not for a good motive. He has no interest in people coming to Christ.
• We see this same kind of activity in the ministry of Jesus. People tormented by evil spirits cried out saying, “You are the Holy One of God. You are the Son of God.” (Luke 4:33-34, 41; 8:27-28)
• Demon oppressed people say true things about Jesus but Jesus rebukes them. 
• This was a satanic attempt to discredit the gospel by associating the gospel message and the messengers with pagan fortune-telling. 

• After several days of having her shouting behind them as they went about the city, Paul was provoked to take action. 
• He became greatly annoyed. It’s not that he lost his temper. It’s better to say that he was grieved both by the poor girl’s condition and the way that this unwelcome publicity was hindering the mission. 
• He turns and commands the evil spirit to come out of her in the name of Jesus Christ. 
• And immediately the spirit left her. 
• She is freed with a word in Jesus’s name!
• She is free from demonic tyranny for the first time in her life. 
• Like the demoniac from Gadarene, the moment he was liberated by the power of Christ, he was instantly in his right mind. 
• Luke doesn’t tell us explicitly that she was converted and later baptized. But we can assume that she probably became a follower of Jesus.
• She suddenly had a new master, the Lord Jesus Christ, who instead of exploiting her, liberated her and gave her peace, joy, freedom, and rest. 

• This is the first detailed exorcism recounted in Acts. Previously, we have only had a summary statement of people being delivered. (Acts 5:16; 8:7). 
• This is the ministry of Jesus, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. 
• The same Spirit that opened Lydia’s heart is the same Spirit that set this girl free from the demonic grip she was under. 
• If Jesus can set free a girl with a python spirit, he can break the strongholds of addiction and bondage in your life. 
• If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed! (John 8:36)
• What do you need him to set you free from today? Call upon the name of the Lord! 

• Now, her owners are not happy about this. They are not rejoicing that the torment she was under is now over. 
• Instead of showing gratitude, her masters were furious because their income stream dried up.
• They drag Paul and Silas into the marketplace before the magistrates of the city and instead of accusing them of robbing them of their livelihood or making a theological accusation, they make a political accusation. 
• The crowd joins in attacking Paul and Silas and the magistrates have the men severely beaten, flogged and their bloodied and battered bodies thrown into the prison dungeon. 

• This is a power encounter between the forces of darkness and the Spirit of Christ. 
• The gospel always confronts the darkness. 
• The preaching of the gospel is never neutral. 
• It doesn’t just comfort those who are being saved. It stirs up the animosity of the world. 
• Those who profit from sin will not appreciate the liberating power of the gospel. 

• The gospel confronts and challenges our idols. For many, that idol is money.  For others it is pleasure, power, or reputation. 
• Where the gospel presses in, there will be opposition. 
• Power and profit will resist and attempt to silence the truth. 
• You can expect it. And many times, it will not be theological opposition, but financial and social. 

• The gospel is not something that is kept hidden away in private.  
• It is a public truth that challenges the status quo and power structures. 
• When you follow Jesus, you will upset someone’s plans, and sometimes that will produce opposition. 
• You will be branded a troublemaker, a disturber of the peace. Many times the accusation will not be on the grounds of the truth claims you are making, but that you are not being nice, that you are being hateful and unkind. 
• The gospel is good news but it is not always safe news. 
• Faithful witness will sometimes cost you dearly—but it’s always worth it, no matter the cost. 

CONCLUSION

• The passage is so important for us today as we stand upon the truth of God’s word. 
• The gospel still divides the world today just as it did in Philippi. 
• Some hearts are opened, others are enraged. Some are freed, others resist. 
• But through it all Christ is building his church, one open heart, one freed captive, one faithful witness at a time. 

• From a riverside in Philippi, to prison cells and palaces, the gospel is still advancing by the wind of God’s Spirit. 
• It saves the sinner. It sets free the captive. And though it stirs up the world’s hatred, it will never be chained. 
• Be bold! Stand with Christ as he saves and sets free! 
• Because Christ is worth it all! 

APPLICATION AND REFLECTION

In light of today's message....

• What did I learn about the gospel?
• How can I apply what I learned about the gospel to my life?
• With whom can I share the gospel this week?