Date:   09/09/07

Text:   Acts 16:11-40

Title:   Power of the Gospel

Theme: We are to be Christ's witnesses because God has empowered us with His Holy Spirit and the Gospel.

Introduction:

  There are all kinds of barriers in life. For us living in Texas and Arizona, we're talking about physical barriers between us and Mexico. There is the gender or language barrier. Barriers are often formed when we don't speak each others' languages. There is also the social barriers: The rich don't mix with the poor. The CEO's may have little interaction with the engineers. There was a time in the south where the blacks and the whites were completely separated. They couldn't use the same bathroom facilities, or even worship under the same roof. My late father-in-law remembered the days with such a sign outside a Ca barbershop: Dogs and Chinese Do Not Enter. Such barriers can make us feel belittled, angry and intimidated.

  There were also plenty of barriers in that 1 st century world. Barriers between the rich and the poor, masters and slaves, between the educated and the uneducated. At the beginning of the book of Acts, God promised his people that he would empower them to be his witnesses in all corners of the earth. As we move to chapters 2 and beyond, we saw the empowerment of the first disciples by the Holy Spirit. With this, the apostles and disciples became His witnesses and preached the gospel message first to the Jews and then to the gentiles. They were His bold and courageous witnesses at the familiar and friendly places, as well as foreign and unfriendly cities. Their boldness earned them the nick name: those that turned the world upside down.

  During Paul's 1 st Missionary journey, we noted that in the cities visited, they first went to the synagogues and preached to the Jews. Then later to the gentiles. There were many who came to follow Christ, but also those who opposed them.

  Last week we discussed Paul's 2 nd Missionary Journey. By means of closing and opening doors, God directed Paul's group to Troas, then to Europe. Originally Paul had wanted to preach the gospel in Asia, yet God directed him to the west. Thus for the first time, the apostles and the gospel officially entered Europe.

  In today's passage, is a rather detailed log of events that happened in the first city they came to in Europe. Luke described the events surrounding the conversion of two individuals in the city of Philippi. From these events we are brought face to face with the power of the gospel. In these words we'll see that we are to be Christ's witnesses because God has empowered us with His Holy Spirit and the Gospel

I •  The Gospel message is powerful because it breaks down social barriers

After crossing the Aegean Sea, they first came to the City of Philippi. This city was named after the father of Alexander the great. It was a Roman colony and the Empire had encouraged its soldiers to retire here. The Philippian Citizens were exempt from provincial taxes. It answered directly to Rome. It's like Chungking and Shanghai in China ( ??? ), directly accountable to Beijing. Philippi is one of the power centers of the Roman empire. And now, with the arrival of Paul and his group, this power center was faced with another power. So the stage is set for what follows next.

In vs.13-15, “ 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. ” Paul and his group went to the river to look for the Jews who might be gathering there. According to the Jewish tradition, at 10 Jewish men are required to form a synagogue. It appears that there was not even 10 Jewish men to meet the quota to form a synagogue. Without a synagogue, the Jews could only worship under an open sky, either near the sea or river.

Here by the river, Paul and his group met Lydia from the city of Thyatira. She was a businesswoman, selling purple goods. In those days, things of purple were expensive, suggesting close ties to the royal offices. A woman selling purple goods also suggested that she could be a wealthy person. As Paul preached, the scripture tells us that God opened her heart, then she believed and was baptized.

We remember that the Macedonian call was issued from a man in a vision. Can we imagine if it was issued by a woman? In those days, a pious Jewish man's daily prayer would include this: I thank you Lord for not being gentile, a slave or a woman.

What happened in this 1 st city in Europe? If we were Paul, we may have been expecting something grand. The whole city came out to listen to him and was converted. We can then imagine new headline back home: total victory. The gospel conquered the city of Philippi. Nothing like this. instead, the first convert was a woman, a gentile. It was kind of an irony. Wouldn't it be nice if the first convert in Europe was a man or even better, the mayor of Philippi. No, but instead it was a gentile woman.

However, Lydia's conversion clearly demonstrated how the power of the gospel broke down that impenetrable gender and social barrier in the 1 st century. Paul later wrote: Gal 3:28, “ 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ”

In the 50's, in many of the southern cities in this country, blacks and whites could not worship in the same place. When Billy Graham was invited to lead a gospel crusade there, he insisted that Blacks and Whites must be integrated in those gatherings, and they did. The gospel message breaks down the barriers between the blacks and the whites.

Don't we also have some social barriers at our work place? Sometimes, there is a clear distinction between those white collar employees and those working in the service sectors, such as kitchens, mail room or cleaning. We seldom see them talk to each other. It's like two ships passing each other in the dark. We have built up certain barriers based on the nature of our job. However, when the gospel comes to us, we are to break down such barriers. We, the Christians, must take the initiative to be kind, gentle and courteous to those who work in a different sector than ours. We are to learn to pause, to get to know them and talk to them. We are to treat each other as God's image bearers, with respect and dignity. Our gospel breaks down such barriers.

II •  The Gospel is powerful because it breaks open human hearts..

From Lydia's conversion, we also learn of the power of the gospel to change a person's heart. God opened her heart and she believed. Paul later wrote in Ephesians 2:1ff , “ 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, …… 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved….” Paul is saying, before we come to know Christ, we were dead in sin, meaning we could not hear nor understand the gospel message. But God, out of his mercy, first started to work in us, causing us to hear him and opened our hearts to him. Paul knew that Lydia came to know Christ, not because of his oratorical skill and elegant words, but because God opened her heart.

The Gideons are a group of Christians known for placing Bibles in hotels and motels around the world. A Norwegian Gideon felt that the Lord was urging him to go to a school on an island in the Norwegian Sea. He knew there were only 3 children in that school and it would take him all day to get there, but he went. After the children received the Bible, he had a little chat with the teacher. During their talk, one of the boys came with tears running down his face, he said, “I have been thinking about Jesus the past few days, and when I saw you coming all this way just to give the 3 of us the NT, I thought ‘Jesus, you sent them here. I want to be yours.' Before the Gideon left that day, the boy and his teacher had given their lives to Jesus.

Another Gideon was trying share the gospel with a man in HK, but was having language difficulties. He stopped a student passing by and asked for some help with translation. After a few minutes, the man left but the student stayed. Several minutes later, the Gideon led that university student to the Lord. God opened the hearts of the boy and teacher in Norway, God opened the heart of the university student in HK and they believed.

Sometimes we say, So and So's heart is very hard. There is really no way this person would come to know Christ. Do you know that very often, it is individuals like that, with the most hardened hearts that would yield their lives to Christ. It's not your or my ability, or our oratorical skill that will bring an individual to Christ. It is the power of the gospel, the power of God's word that opens a person's heart. Paul summarized this truth in Romans 1:16, “ 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

III •  The Gospel message is powerful; it defeats Satan's subtle infiltration.

  Now, on their way to this river side, there was this slave girl who was possessed by the demon. From a more in depth study of this girl, we learn that she was possessed by the demon called Python, a snake. This demon was speaking through her to tell her clients about their future. And her master was making money out of her. When she saw Paul, she would cry out, “they are the servants of the most high, they are here to tell you the way of salvation.” On the surface, it appeared that she was doing free advertizing for Paul's group. But a closer look reveals it was not. Most high could be just one of their gods, and not the particular God. the message appears to be accurate, but in reality it was not. it was a very subtle attack. The devil infiltrated the truth with half-truths. Paul saw through this and in the name of Jesus, defeated the demon and freed the girl from demon possession. We are not told if she turned her hearts to Jesus or not. What we do know is about the power of the gospel in overcoming Satan's subtle attack.

  What does it mean for us today? In our society we don't often see individuals being possessed by the evil spirits. However, isn't it true that we are still surrounded day in and day out by half truths? We are bombarded with the message that if we would only try harder, we'll be better Christians. If we just be a little more disciplined that we're ok. These messages of self help suggest that by our own effort, we can gain more acceptance by God. It's like, if you try a little harder, you'll be saved. Nothing is farther from the truth than this. no, salvation is by grace and grace alone. Even after we come to know Christ, it is by faith, and his grace that we become more Christ like. It has nothing to do with our merit.

  Or take another half truth. God wants to bless us with health and wealth. Therefore if we follow God's principle, he'll make us wealthy and healthy. Again, nothing is farther from the truth than this. God wants to bless us, and he has already given us all his heavenly blessings. He has called and chosen us to be his children. When we follow God's principle in daily living, we'll experience hardship in life. it may be sickness and poverty. But his promise is that in the midst of such hardship and difficulties, he is with us. he will give us peace that transcends all human circumstances. The gospel tells us that the most important thing in life is not to ask God to give us what we want, but to learn to obey him. (sometimes, out of his mercy, he would give us the desires of our hearts).

IV.   The Gospel message is powerful because it defeats Satan's open attack.

       In this passage, we see another aspect of Satan's attack. When the slave girl's master realized that his source of income was being cut off, he brought Paul to the magistrate and accused him of his teaching being anti-Jewish tradition. So Paul and Silas (no mention of Luke and Timothy) were beaten and imprisoned. You see, as long as the gospel leaves people's interest alone, we can all coexist peacefully. However, when the gospel touched human interest, it then became a different story.

  Generally speaking, employers like to hire Christians for their kindness and honesty. But when Christian honesty refuses to compromise with unethical behavior, then it is a different story. If everyone is taking some kind of bribery and you won't, it is a very unpleasant feeling, right? Or if others are cutting corners to meet a deadline, but you insist on doing the right things, this could cause others to turn against you.

  I also think of times when the Christian faith is perceived as a threat to the political power, it can also lead to outright persecution. As long as you don't bother the government, the two can coexist peacefully. But once we perceive you're a threat to us, then it can be very nasty. Imagine, if 100K Christians overnight quietly gathered around a country's political center, the White House or Tiananmen Square, it will create quite a stir.

  What did Paul and Silas do when in jail? At midnight, they sang praises to God and prayed. It was the songs of midnight. We don't think they prayed for rescue, because when the prison doors were opened later, they did not move at all. Yet, they were certain that if God so desired, he would rescue them from prison. They must have been familiar with the words of Daniel's friends in the OT. Daniel 3:16-18, “ 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” The frontal attack did not defeat Paul and Silas.

  There was an earthquake that evening, causing the prison doors to open. The Jailer was so afraid that he asked, “what must I do to be saved?” Paul's answer was simple, “believe in the lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” It was a very simple answer to a simple question. Paul was not giving them the promise that when you believe, your entire household will be saved. It was more like this: when you believe in Jesus, you will be saved. Because of your salvation, you will also affect your family to the point that they will also come to know Christ. We have seen this happen over and over again among us. You became a Christian after you come to this country or this church. Then you start sharing Christ with your family members, and one by one, eventually all six of them came to know Christ.

  It is also important for us to remember that Paul gave a simple answer to a simple question. There was no systematic theology nor the details of the Christian faith. He just pointed the jailor to Jesus Christ. He believed and was baptized. Later in Athens, Paul gave a complete presentation of the gospel message. There are times it may require months or even years to clear up someone's doubts, questions and confusion about the Christian faith. On the other hand it may take a very short time, several minutes or hours to clear up the question. However, when we come to the point of decision, the answer is always the same: believe in the lord Jesus. Put your faith in him as your lord and savior. I remember sharing the gospel with a friend over a period of several years. When one day he told me he was ready, we just knelt down and prayed the sinner's prayer together. Then there was also a couple, after a 20 minutes presentation and explanation of the gospel, they were ready to accept Christ.

Conclusion:

  We can be intimidated by all kinds barriers in life. we may feel intimidated when we try to share the gospel with our boss, or someone who is openly hostile to the Christian faith. We may feel intimidated to speak English to an American friend, or to someone whom we're afraid may not understand us. Therefore we don't have the courage to share the gospel with them. When you find yourself in such situations, it is wise to remember that we have no power whatsoever within ourselves.

  However, we don't stop here. We're to remember that God has already given us his Holy Spirit so we can be strong and courageous. Not only this, but there is power in this gospel message. It has power to break open social barriers and individual hearts. It also has the power to overcome demonic attacks. We are granted such power, so there is really no reason to be afraid.