Tag Archives: Philippi

ACTS THE SEQUEL…ON TO TROAS – 49

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“When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia. He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece …But we sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭20‬:‭1‬-‭2‬, ‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

One almost begins to feel weary at the thought of Paul’s travels under such difficult circumstances. After all, it took days and weeks for him to travel the distances we can travel in a few hours. If we study the map of Paul’s journeys, we see that this leg took him from Ephesus to Troas in Asia Minor…with many stops on the way. 

“From the city of Ephesus to the port city of Troas was a journey, on foot, of 349km (about 217 miles). In the spring this would have taken about 12 days of hard walking. From Troas, a boat across the Thracian Sea to Neapolis in Macedonia would have only taken 2.5 days to go the 347km (~216 miles) over water.” 

However, this was only a short stop on his way to Jerusalem, thousands of miles away. 

It is obvious, if we trace his travels on the map, that Paul no longer had a fixed address…no permanent home…no family awaiting him…no comfortable bed or familiar food…no friends or neighbours to welcome him home.  His was a life of permanent  travel…on the road…depending on friends and acquaintances for food and a bed. What a way to live! Why did he live this way?

Paul had a calling and a commission…to take the good news of Jesus to the Gentile world. He was not called to a life of home, family, and a nine-to-five job like most of us live. Jesus said, “Go!” and Paul went. He had his eye on a reward far greater than a comfortable life on earth. 

Paul became a recipient of a far greater promise…

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭29‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In a sense, Paul did have a home, in fact, hundreds of homes scattered across the Roman world, and a far bigger and more loving family than his own blood family…hundreds of believers who owed their new life to his faithful ministry to them at great cost. He claimed family ties far deeper and stronger than a natural family.

He wrote to his Corinthian family…

“I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We cannot all live this way. Some are called to go and others to stay. Some are called to endure hardship and others to enjoy comfort. Will the reward be greater for those who have little in this life…endure hardship, persecution, and suffering? 

The answer is not in “what” but “how” we experience what God gives us in life. He creates our circumstances…but He requires our response. 

“‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’”…

‭‭Acts‬ ‭17‬:‭28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We can become bitter in difficult circumstances. We can complain and rebel. We can become complaisant in a cushy life, forgetting others and enjoying our own comfort. 

Paul’s solution is simple but not easy…

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Did you get that?

“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation…”

Paul tells us, in the most trying times of his life…

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ NIV

Praise…gladness…thanksgiving…gratitude…in, not for the very things that caused him pain! Why did he rejoice?

“…so that Christ’s power may rest on me.…For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul chose to turn his attention away from himself to Jesus, to the one who provided the strength to overcome. 

So Paul could be homeless, travel many miles on foot… suffer cold, hunger, weariness…even shipwreck, imprisonment, and face death…grateful and faithful because he knew that a great reward awaited him. 

This life, for Paul, was not the reward but the preparation. 

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

His attitude was…

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Dear readers, the issue is this. Whether our lives are easy or difficult…cushy or uncomfortable…God rewards faithfulness…what we do with the calling and the resources He has given us. 

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV

Our circumstances are a trust. What we do in them will determine our reward. 

To be continued 

THE BOOK OF ACTS – NO PUSHOVERS

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NO PUSHOVERS

“At daybreak, the court judges sent officers with the instructions, ‘Release these men.’ The jailer gave Paul the message, ‘The judges sent word that you’re free to go on your way. Congratulations! Go in peace!’

“But Paul wouldn’t budge. He told the officers, ‘They beat us up in public, and threw us in jail, Roman citizens in good standing! And now they want us to get out of the way on the sly without anyone knowing? Nothing doing! If they want us out of here, let them come themselves and lead us out in broad daylight.'” Acts 16:35-37 (The Message).

Hey, Paul! I thought you were supposed to be meek and humble, and take abuse without complaining, like Jesus did.

Why did Paul pull rank on these judges? Should they not have simply left quietly as though nothing had happened; turned the other cheek as Jesus taught His disciples?

Is that really what He taught? Does Jesus want His disciples to be jellyfish, pushovers?

What exactly did Jesus mean when He said, ‘Turn the other cheek’? If someone slapped another person on the right cheek, it was meant as an insult. To slap him on the right cheek, he had to use his left hand which was considered unclean because the left hand was used for toilet purposes. To turn the other cheek meant that he had to slap the other person with his right hand, forcing him to acknowledge that they were equals.

When Israel was rescued from slavery in Egypt, they had to unlearn centuries of abuse from their Egyptian masters in a new society where they were free. God built into their constitution and culture a new way of life where He taught them to treat one another with human dignity, recognising that every person was created in the image of God.

God hates oppression of any kind and, in the case of Paul and Silas, the Roman judges differentiated between Romans and Jews. They got the Jewish end of the stick because their oppressors hadn’t taken the trouble to carry out their job properly. Paul wanted the Roman judges to acknowledge their unjust treatment by publicly escorting them from the prison where they had been publicly humiliated by the treatment they had received.

Good for you, Paul! It was a lesson these arrogant Romans would not easily forget. Perhaps they were saving someone else from being treated as they had been treated.

“When the officers reported this, the judges panicked. They had no idea that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. They hurried over and apologised, personally escorting them from the jail, and then asked them if they wouldn’t please leave the city. Walking out of the jail, Paul and Silas went straight to Lydia’s house, saw their friends again, encouraged them in the faith, and only then went on their way.” Acts 16:38-40 (The message).

Apparently, although this kind of behaviour was common practice, it was not Roman policy. The judges were using their position of power to abuse Jews whom they despised. If the authorities got to hear about it, they were in big trouble. Mistreating non-Romans was bad enough but mistreating Roman citizens, Jews or no Jews, was serious.

They not only personally escorted Paul and Silas out of jail, they also wanted them out of the city because they were a source of embarrassment to them. Having got the justice they deserved and taught these men a lesson, Paul and Silas reported back to Lydia who was their hostess and must have wondered what had happened to them, encouraged the fledgling believers and then went on their way as requested.

But it was not the last that Philippi had seen of them. There was a baby church to nurture and Paul had no intention of abandoning them, judges or no judges.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

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A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

“The jailer got a torch and ran inside. Badly shaken, he collapsed in front of Paul and Silas and asked, “Sirs, what do I have to do to be saved, to really live?’ They said, ‘Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus. Then you’ll live as you were meant to live — and everyone in your house included.’

“They went on to spell out in detail the story of the Master — the entire family got in on this part. They never did get to bed that night. The jailer made them feel at home, dressed their wounds and then — he couldn’t wait till morning! — was baptised, he and everyone in his family. There in his home, he had food set out for a festive meal. It was a night to remember: He and his entire family had put their trust in God: everyone in the house was in on the celebration.” Acts 16:29-34 (The Message).

What a reversal of roles!

Did Paul and Silas ever dream, when they got up that morning, that the day would end like that? Locked in a maximum security cell with their feet in leg irons under heavy guard wasn’t exactly on their agenda. They were minding their own business when the slave girl harassed them and called forth Paul’s reaction — evict the demon and restore peace. The outcome was more than they bargained for.

Their response to the vicious treatment they received left all the other prisoners shaking their heads. Praying and singing instead of swearing and protesting! How could these men be so nonchalant about their predicament? And then the earthquake! Not only Paul and Silas were free, but all the other prisoners as well — and no one took the opportunity to escape! Now that’s surprising — and supernatural! God would have been guilty of executing a jailbreak!

And then the jailer’s response! From a typical authoritarian Roman civil servant, he became a humble enquirer. What did he perceive, in these events that shook him to the core? He had locked up many a guilty criminal but never had he seen men behave in this way and never had any god intervened so decisively to free his innocent devotees. There had to be more to this than he could fathom.

Fancy a jailer begging his prisoners for mercy! This whole scenario is mind boggling. Paul and Silas grabbed the opportunity to tell him what he wanted to know but they did nothing to capitalise on the strange turn of events to secure their freedom. The jailer had no authority to release them and they put no pressure on him to do anything illegal.

It was the jailer’s initiative to take them home and try to undo some of the injustice they had suffered. Since when did a jailer every entertain prisoners in his home, wash and dress their wounds and feed them like royalty — and all this in the early hours of the morning? His new-found faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the boundless joy that overflowed from his heart produced this passion to serve these two servants of the Lord.

It’s no wonder Paul could write these words: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose,” Romans 8:28 (NIV). Little did they know that, by the end of that day, a whole family would have been born into the kingdom of God through their suffering.

Every word that Paul penned to the beloved saints in church after church was written in blood and suffering, but every experience was worth it. He could say with utter confidence, “We know…” His Master, Jesus, had to learn obedience through His suffering — not by trial and error, but by obeying — and Paul, likewise, learned that the fruit of his suffering was eternal in its value.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes, not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV).

Light and momentary troubles? In the light of the eternal value of those who believed through his suffering, yes!

THE BOOK OF ACTS – JOINED TO CHRIST

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JOINED TO CHRIST

“Putting out from the harbour at Troas, we made a straight run for Samothrace. The next day we tied up at New City and walked from there to Philippi, the main city in that part of Macedonia and, even more importantly, a Roman colony. We lingered there several days.

“On the Sabbath we left the city and went along the river where we had heard there was to be a prayer meeting. We took our place with the women who had gathered there and talked with them. One woman, Lydia, was from Thyatira and a dealer in expensive textiles, known to be a God-fearing woman. As she listened with intensity to what was being said, the Master gave her a trusting heart — and she believed.” Acts 16:11-14 (The Message).

These were the moments that made it worthwhile — all the persecution, all the suffering, all the weariness and hardship were irrelevant when it came to the joy of leading a soul to Jesus. Lydia was their first convert on European soil. Unlike Jewish women who were by-and-large nonentities, Lydia was wealthy and influential, a successful business woman and also a thinking person.

She had turned from the irrational worship of Roman gods to the God of the Jews, one of those in the category of “God-fearers”, attached to, but not part of the Jewish religion. She had come to realise that the Jewish faith had something that attracted and satisfied her much more than the pantheon of gods that pandered to human wickedness.

It’s no wonder, then, that she was ripe for the picking when Paul and Silas sat down with the women to bring them the full revelation of God in His Son Jesus. All she needed to complete her faith was the good news of what the God of the Jews had done to rescue mankind from its plight through rebellion and sin. It all made sense to her and, without hesitation, she put her faith in the One of whom Paul and Silas spoke.

“After she was baptized, along with everyone in her household, she said, in a surge of hospitality, ‘If you’re confident that I’m in this with you, and believe in the Master truly, come home with me and be my guests.’ We hesitated but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Acts 16:15 (The Message).

For the good news of Jesus to be authentic, it must produce something more than intellectual assent. You have to put your money where your mouth is. For Paul it meant burying old prejudices and setting aside old taboos. Both Paul and Silas, proud Jewish men, had to drop their attitude to women, and a Gentile woman at that. Lydia wanted to express her gratitude and generosity by opening her home to them.

These are the realities of the new life that Jesus offers to those who put their faith in Him. It’s not only about recognising that He is who He says He is, the One who has power and authority above all others, but it’s also about entrusting ourselves to Him so that He produces life changes in us so radical that we begin, more and more, to think and act like He does.

These are the fruit of His life and the evidence of our change of allegiance, from self to God, a paradigm shift so powerful that it actually alters the entire core and direction of our lives. No religion can do that. All religion can do is entrench more deeply what is already in us — every kind of self-driven effort, accomplishment and indulgence that cut us off from God’s grace.

Lydia was joined to Christ and, for her, a new life had begun.

A Church Is Born

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A CHURCH IS BORN

“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all God’s people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Philippians 1:1.

Today we embark on a journey through another of Paul’s letters, this time one with a completely different tone and motive from his letter to the Galatians. The people of the Galatian church had been influenced by the Judaizers to believe that they needed to become Jews by adhering to all the Jewish laws and customs before they could become followers of Jesus. Paul had to write a very strong letter to them straighten up their understanding of the gospel.

His letter to the Philippian church, by contrast, was a happy one, prompted by deep love for the people in Philippi who were the first on European soil to believe in Jesus.  They had been generous to Paul, sending him financial help on more than occasion. He wrote to thank them and to encourage them in their faith despite the odds stacked against them in the Roman Empire. Paul himself was a prisoner in Rome at that moment, having been sent from Jerusalem for trial before Caesar.

Paul was evangelising in Asia Minor on his second missionary journey when he had a vision. He was in Troas, having been prevented from travelling north by the Holy Spirit. In his vision he saw a man from Macedonia, a province in Greece, calling him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Assuming that it was God’s Spirit speaking to him, he responded immediately and set sail into a new region.

His first convert in Macedonia was a wealthy Greek woman, Lydia, who lived in Philippi. She and some other women who believed in God, met for prayer beside a river outside the city. Paul and his travelling companion, Silas, joined them and Paul grabbed the opportunity to tell them about Jesus. Lydia’s heart was moved by the Holy Spirit. She believed in Jesus and was baptised. She offered her home to the travellers and they remained with her during their stay in Philippi.

Philippi was also the place of unexpected miracles. Paul and Silas were detained for releasing a slave girl from bondage to a demon. The resultant uproar stirred up by the slave girl’s owners who had just lost their source of income because Paul had evicted the demon who used the girl to tell fortunes, landed Paul and Silas in the city jail, fastened in the stocks and brutally mutilated by a whipping.

In their pain and discomfort they could not sleep. Instead of complaining about the injustice they were suffering, they began to sing. An unexpected earthquake rocked the prison, burst open the doors and set all the prisoners free. The outcome was another miracle. The jailer took the two men home, washed and cleaned them up, treated their wounds, fed them and listened with astonishment to the gospel. He and his whole family believed and were baptised there and then, adding another whole family to the infant church in Europe.

They were released from prison the next morning, and escorted from jail by the very magistrates who had sentenced them, having been informed by Paul that they had mistreated Roman citizens. Thus began the strong relationship that Paul had with the church in Philippi. Lydia’s house became the centre of the fellowship there.

Paul gives us a small insight into the leadership of the church. He mentions overseers (elders) and deacons. These were not so much offices as functions. There seems to have been a plurality of elders – a wise safeguard against dictatorship which can so easily creep into the church. There was also a group of people who served, called deacons. We can glean the function of a deacon from Acts 6 where men were chosen to serve food to the widows in the church in Jerusalem.

There was no pomp and ceremony in the early church. Everyone was equal, even those who led and those who served. Their leaders were servant-leaders, carrying a great responsibility to ensure that the people were guided by the word of God and were walking in the truth. According to Peter, the role of the elders was to give themselves to the study of the word and to prayer. It was their task to understand and interpret Jesus’ yoke according to His disposition and to bind it on the people, loosing them from every other yoke that brought them into, or kept them in bondage.

How far the church in many quarters has wandered from its original pattern. It is up to us to return to the simplicity of Jesus’ call, “Come, follow me!”

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.