Focal Passage: Acts 16:11-15, 29-40
God has a way of getting us to where He wants us to go. Often, we think we have an idea of what God wants us to do only to find out that we are so off the mark that we are left clueless and completely confused and bewildered.
If only I could count the many times, I have heard people say, “Pastor, I really thought I was doing God’s will”, or, “I really thought God wanted me to do this.” But God always finds a way to guide us and put us exactly where He wants us to be, doing exactly what He wants us to do. We should always be ready to respond to every opportunity God directs us towards.
In this week’s lesson, we find that Paul and Silas have arrived in Macedonia and they have made their way to the city of Philippi. Some key events take place there. After several days, they discover that there apparently is no synagogue there, which was their typical starting point, but did discover a place where people gathered for prayer.
On the Sabbath,they go and find a group of women meeting there. The fact that no men are mentioned gives credence to the fact there was not a synagogue in the city. There has to be at least ten Jewish males before a synagogue can be built.
Nimmo
Paul begins sharing the gospel with these women. Among them was a woman named Lydia. Luke tells us she was a worshiper of God which would imply she was a Gentile who believed in God, but had not converted to Judaism. The passage says that God opened her heart to Paul’s message and she and her whole household became believers. Lydia would later play an important role in the Philippian church.
Another event in Philippi occurs in, Acts 16:29-40. Paul and Silas have been thrown in jail after commanding a spirit to come out of a girl who predicted the future. The owners of this slave girl took great offense to their loss of income and incited the crowds and magistrates to have Paul and Silas beaten and thrown into prison. But that night, while they were worshiping God, a severe earthquake shook the prison so hard that all the doors were unhinged and the chains fell off their hands and feet.
The jailer, thinking all the prisoners had escaped, prepared to kill himself, but Paul stopped him. Luke had a way of leaving out the details that were not important to him, but I wished he would have told us what happened to all the other prisoners. Did they just put their chains back on and shut their cell doors? We do not know. But a curious question to be sure.
At any rate, from this event, the jailer and all his household accept the Good News and were saved. The next day, the magistrates send orders for Paul and Silas to be released and to leave the city.
Apparently, Paul and Silas had returned to their cells. Again, Luke does not tell us, but obviously their temporary reprieve was over. Paul refuses to leave quietly and demands that the magistrates come personally and escort them out of the prison. They comply, and before leaving the city, they visit Lydia’s home and encouraged the believers now worshiping in her house before leaving.
God always has a plan. We just need to look for His opportunities. B&R
