PERSEVERING SERVICE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you His gospel in the face of strong opposition.

1 Thessalonians 2:1-2

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Paul was on his second missionary journey when he visited Philippi, described in the scriptures as a “Roman colony and the leading city” of the district of Macedonia (Acts 16:12). You may recall he went there after experiencing a vision while in Troas where a man was “standing and begging him” to “Come over to Macedonia and help us. (16:8).” Paul interpreted the vision as God calling him and the others to go and preach the gospel in Macedonia and this is what led him to Philippi (16:10).

Here’s what happened during his visit there:

1. He met a woman named Lydia.

There wasn’t a synagogue everywhere that Paul visited and it’s evident this was the case in Philippi. And so the Apostle went to where you would usually find believers, in a place of prayer near a river (Acts 16:13-15).

The scriptures tell us that it was the Sabbath as Paul discovered a group of women gathered together. One of them was a “woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia”, a merchant dealer of “purple cloth”. Thyatira was located in Asia across the Aegean Sea from Philippi so it’s obvious Lydia had relocated and set up to set up business.

Now, today we wouldn’t think there was any more value in purple cloth as found in red, blue, orange, or any other color but in biblical times, it was an item of luxury and people paid greatly for it. What made Lydia’s success story even more impressive was that she was a businesswoman operating in a culture that was male dominant. It’s obvious the God she worshipped was blessing her.

As Paul spoke to the group and taught them about the Gospel, God’s word tells us that “the Lord opened” Lydia’s “heart to respond to Paul’s message”. She and “the members of her household were baptized” and she then persuaded Paul and those with him to stay at her home, an offer they accepted.

2. The slave woman with a spirit within her.

Things didn’t stay peaceful long for Paul, Silas, and the others.

For as they were heading back to the place of prayer, they were “met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future” (Acts 16:16-24). The woman was profitable for her owners who used her for fortune telling.

Well, the scriptures tell us the woman followed Paul and those with him shouting:

“These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”

We read where this went on for many days before Paul became annoyed. He turned to the woman and said to the spirit within her:

“In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!”

Immediately, the spirit departed and the slave’s owners lost their hope of making money. Angered, they “seized Paul and Silas”, dragging them “into the marketplace to face the authorities”. A crowd formed and “joined in the attack” on Paul and Silas as the magistrates ordered them to “be stripped and beaten with rods” before being thrown into prison. The jailer was “commanded to guard them carefully” and so he “put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks”.

3. The jailer’s conversion.

The Lord always has a purpose for everything, even after a flogging and imprisonment (Acts 16:25-40).

God’s word tells us that it was “about midnight” when “Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God” with the “other prisoners...listening to them”. All of a sudden, a “violent earthquake” shook “the foundations of the prison” and all the jail cell “doors flew open” and “everyone’s chains came loose”.

The earthquake jarred the jailer awake from his sleep and when he saw that the prison doors were open, he assumed the prisoners escaped which would have led to his execution for failing to guard them as ordered. The jailer was so distraught that he “drew his sword and was about to kill himself”. Thankfully, Paul intervened, shouting to the jailer:

“Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

After calling for the lights to be turned on, the jailer rushed in and immediately fell at the feet of Paul and Silas, asking them:

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

To which, Paul and Silas replied:

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

And with that, Paul and Silas “spoke the word of the Lord” to the jailer and “all the others in his house”. The jailer “washed their wounds” and then “he and all his household were baptized” immediately before the “jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them”. The scriptures tell us the jailer “was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household”.

At daylight, “the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer” with the following order:

“Release those men.”

And so the jailer told Paul:

“The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”

But Paul was indignant, saying 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.”

Paul’s insistent request went from the officers to the magistrates who became alarmed after learning that “Paul and Silas were Roman citizens”. And so we read where “they came to appease the apostles and then “escorted them from the prison” before “requesting them to leave the city”. Paul and Silas would first go to “Lydia’s house” to meet with and encourage the “brothers and sisters” there before departing Philippi and heading to Thessalonica.

Going back to our verses for today, you can see what Paul meant when he tells the Thessalonian Christians that he had “previously suffered” and was “treated outrageously in Philippi”.

Now consider that this was one stop of many in Paul’s Gospel spreading tour. He would go onto do two other missionary journeys after the one he was on when he went to Thessalonica and every stop seemed to have its own set of troubles.

And yet, Paul pressed on because he was a persevering servant. The cause of Christ was more important to him than any opposition or adversity.

Why did Paul share this with the Thessalonian believers and why have his words been preserved over the ages for us to study today?

Because Paul wanted those who would serve like him, and all Christ followers have been given the same Great Commission he received, to dare to tell the Gospel of Jesus Christ” anywhere or anytime, even in the face of strong opposition. Friends, being an evangelist is not for the faint of heart. Jesus was crucified for it. Paul was severely persecuted for it. And neither of them gave up.

We can’t either so let us adopt this life attitude of Paul, the life attitude of a persevering servant, a life attitude ironically shared with the Christian believers in Philippi:

“...what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him” (Philippians 1:19-21, 27-29).

Amen.  

In Christ,

Mark

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