Participants: Tony Moore
Series Code: IFP
Program Code: IFP000007
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01:37 After the decision of the Council of Jerusalem had been
01:40 reached, it was shared with the church at Antioch. 01:44 Paul got word that certain people had come up into 01:48 Galatia and had confused the believers. 01:52 God put it upon his heart and the heart of Barnabas, 01:56 a desire to go up and to clarify the issues and to share 02:00 with them the message of the Council of Jerusalem. 02:03 Paul and Barnabas decided to go visit the churches they 02:07 had planted, Barnabas suggested they take John Mark, 02:11 but Paul refused saying no, he turned his back on us and 02:14 Perga and we do not need him to go with us. 02:17 This brought them into a decision to separate 02:20 and go different directions. 02:22 Barnabas took John Mark and went to visit the churches 02:25 they had established in the island of Cyprus. 02:30 Paul chose Silas who had been sent with him from 02:35 Jerusalem to report from the Council and the Council's 02:39 decision there to accompany him to Galatia and Pisidia, 02:44 to share the Councils decision. 02:47 They would have walked up this Roman road, and crossed 02:51 this Roman bridge, the Roman road came up through the 02:55 ancient Cilician Gates, gates carved by the Tarsus River that 03:02 flowed through this gap. 03:04 From here they would have gone into Anatolian Plateau to 03:08 visit the churches of Derbe and Lystra and Iconium 03:12 and Pisidian Antioch. 03:15 After being at Pisidian Antioch, Paul wanted to go up 03:19 to Bithynia, to Byzantium and preach the gospel there, 03:22 but the Holy Spirit said no. 03:25 So he turned towards Asia, he wanted to preach and 03:28 establish the message in Ephesus, or in Pergamum. 03:32 Again the Spirit of Jesus said no, and so Paul was 03:35 led to Alexandrian Troas. 03:41 Luke describes how the Holy Spirit lead Paul here 03:44 to Alexandrian Troas, where he saw a vision of a man from 03:48 Macedonian saying, come on over and help us. 03:51 Luke joins the apostle Paul, Timothy and Silas as they 03:56 sailed across the Aegean, pass Samothrace and came to 04:01 Neopolis looking for the man from Macedonia. 04:16 The missionaries had a very uneventful passage, crossing 04:19 from Troas in just two days. 04:21 On another occasion it would take Paul five days to make 04:25 the same journey by boat. 04:27 It was a very important moment for Christianity. 04:30 It was the first time that Paul had reached the European shore. 04:34 But he would not be aware of this fine distinction, for 04:37 as far as they were concerned, they were making the 04:40 journey from one Roman province to another. 04:42 From the province of Asia to the province of Macedonia. 04:51 Descending from the crest of the ridge, separating the 04:56 plain of Philippi from the sea, lush green Macedonia 05:00 open before our missionaries. 05:02 As I walked along this original section of the Egnatia 05:07 parallels the new modern highway, I thought of how a 05:10 certain Spring must've developed in their step. 05:14 How they must have gotten their second wind, for off 05:17 in a distance you could see the Roman colony of Philippi. 05:20 As they walked down this road they must have been praying, 05:23 Lord help us to find this man that Paul saw 05:27 while in vision in Troas. 05:35 We have now reached Acro Philippi the Acropolis standing 05:38 behind the city of Philippi, named after Alexander 05:42 the Great's father. 05:44 And yet when Paul and Silas reached this city it 05:47 was a Roman colony. 05:50 That meant as you came in people were speaking Latin and 05:54 acting like Latin citizens. 05:56 The city was special because was on these plains where 06:00 the Roman Republic ended and the Roman empire began. 06:05 You see Mark Anthony and Octavian met Caesar's assassins 06:09 here, and Cassius and Brutus were defeated and chose 06:13 suicide over surrender. 06:15 The victors, thankful for the support of the local city, 06:19 granted upon it the special status of becoming a Roman 06:22 colony, that meant they settled Roman soldiers here. 06:26 Retired veterans settled the city and they were given 06:30 large tracts of land to move here. 06:32 As you enter it into the city, even though it was in the 06:35 heart of Macedonia, you might have thought you were 06:38 literally moving into Rome. 06:40 People wore Roman clothes, they spoke Latin, they had 06:43 Latin inscriptions on their coins and their monuments. 06:47 And of course they were ruled by Latin law. 06:50 There were two types of Roman citizens here in this city. 06:54 The first was those of Italian extraction, they were born 06:57 in Italy, born Italian, 07:00 and they were born as Roman citizens. 07:02 The second and perhaps more numerous, were those of other 07:07 extractions who would become Roman citizens. 07:10 Perhaps it was a gift granted because of a heroic deed 07:14 for the Roman empire. 07:15 Perhaps it was an honor given for a city who withstood with 07:18 the empire for some strategic battle. 07:21 Both types of citizens were extremely proud of their 07:25 heritage, for it granted upon them special rights. 07:30 You see Roman citizens were exempt from being beaten. 07:34 They were exempt from being arrested and put in jail, 07:38 except in very extreme cases, and of course they had 07:42 the right to appeal to Caesar. 07:45 If the death penalty had been decided for a Roman citizen, 07:49 they could not be crucified, as Jesus was, they would be 07:53 beheaded, a quick form of punishment verses crucifixion. 07:57 Of course Paul and Silas fit into this second category 08:02 and would have enjoyed the special rights of 08:05 being Roman citizens. 08:07 The two missionaries approached the city from the east. 08:11 They walked the 8 miles from Neopolis, came through the 08:15 eastern gate, the Neopolis Gate and as they walked down 08:19 the Egnatian Way, through the city, they began looking 08:23 everywhere for the man Paul had seen in vision in Troas. 08:27 Where was that Macedonian man who said, 08:30 come over and help us. 08:32 Paul and Silas went through the city looking, looking, 08:35 and looking for that man. 08:37 On the Sabbath, they could not attend the Synagogue as 08:41 their custom was, because there were not even 10 08:43 Jewish men here. 08:45 The law said if there were 10 Jewish men they could have 08:48 synagogue, but there were apparently not any Jewish men 08:52 here so Paul and Silas went out the Via Egnatia, the 08:56 other direction, left the city to the west and went 09:00 out to the river where prayer was to be made. 09:03 There they met a God-fearing woman who was worshiping 09:07 by the river, a merchant princess by the name of Lydia 09:12 whose heart became open to the Gospel and she became 09:16 a supporter of God's Church in this city. 09:25 The Bible says on the Sabbath we went outside the 09:28 city gates to the river where we expected to 09:31 find a place of prayer. 09:33 We walked about a kilometer out of the city of Philippi 09:37 down to this spot along the river that commemorates a 09:41 wonderful story described in the book of Acts. 09:44 It's a story of how Paul who has seen a vision of a man 09:47 for Macedonia, came looking for that man and did not 09:51 find a man at all, instead he found a woman. 09:54 A woman named Lydia. 09:57 The missionaries walked out to this spot and here they 10:01 found this group of women and sat down and shared 10:04 the gospel with them. 10:06 This beautiful spot has been commemorated by the 10:09 building of a Greek orthodox church known as 10:12 the Chapel of St. Lydia. 10:15 Inside is a wonderful baptismal fount where children 10:18 are baptized in the name of the father the son and the 10:21 Holy Spirit, as a matter of fact we saw several children 10:23 being baptized this morning. 10:25 In addition to the Chapel on this site there is also 10:28 an outdoor Chapel with a outdoor baptistery. 10:32 We want to go down to the edge of the river, a place 10:36 where the King James said, prayer was want to be made. 10:39 Let's go down and examine the site. 10:46 I have had the privilege of coming to this very special spot 10:49 on several occasions to worship my Lord on the Sabbath, 10:52 just as Paul, Silas and Lydia worshiped their Lord here. 10:56 We do not know if Paul was disappointed to find women 11:00 here and no men, but we do know that Lydia was a very 11:03 special woman, a very influential woman. 11:07 Luke says that she was the seller of purple from 11:10 the city of Thyatira. 11:12 Purple was a very precious commodity 11:14 in the ancient world. 11:16 It was made from the murex shell, a sea snail harvested 11:21 off the coast of Canaan. 11:23 As a matter of fact Canaan means, belonging to 11:26 the land of red purple. 11:28 The industrious people of Thyatira, invented a new way 11:32 of making purple, they've developed a process of 11:35 extracting the dye from the Madder root. 11:38 Obviously was far more economical to grow the Madder 11:42 root in the ground than to dive for the 11:45 murex shell in the sea. 11:47 Soon the dye Guild of Thyatira spread this new process 11:52 throughout the ancient world. 11:55 Lydia knew there would be a big demand for purple cloth 11:59 in a Roman colony, so she moved from Asia minor across 12:03 the Aegean to this Roman colony Philippi. 12:06 She was a very influential woman, a very wealthy woman. 12:11 She was a merchant princess, a God-fearer. 12:15 You see she had been walking in the light, she had 12:19 accepted the monotheistic God of the Jews, she began 12:22 observing the Sabbath, she was walking in the light with 12:27 an open heart and now God showed Paul a vision of a man 12:31 to bring him from Troas across the sea to Philippi 12:36 to share the gospel with this special woman. 12:39 She opened her heart to the gospel and was baptized 12:43 here in this river. 12:45 She became a pillar of the church at Philippi. 12:48 As a matter of fact Paul writes how the church of Macedonia 12:52 was the most generous of the churches. 12:54 I'm sure that is a large part due to this seller of 12:59 purple, this merchant princess from Thyatira. 13:02 Paul, Silas, Timothy, Luke must have been excited with 13:07 this wonderful turn of events, 13:10 but soon things would change. 13:12 Act 16:16 says. 13:50 One day as Paul and Silas were returning from their place 13:53 of prayer, they were being followed by a slave girl who 13:56 was possessed by an evil spirit. 13:58 The Scripture said she had the spirit of divination, 14:00 the spirit of being able to predict the future. 14:03 The original is very interesting it is a Puthon spirit, 14:06 a Python spirit is the same word that was used to 14:09 describe the Oracle at Delphi. 14:11 The ancients believed Delphi to be the navel of the world 14:16 and there was an oracle that would go forth from the 14:19 priestess there, a prophetess would speak and lose her 14:22 mind, speak in an incoherent way and give ecstatic 14:26 utterances and the priests would try to interpret and 14:29 piece together the future. 14:32 Caesars were even impressed with this and would journey 14:35 from Rome to try and divine the future through this 14:38 oracle, this girl had been possessed by this evil spirit 14:41 and it will come upon her and she'd be out of her mind. 14:45 She would speak words in an incoherent way and project 14:48 her voice from her belly. 14:51 People would listen and pay money for this and try and 14:53 understand the future. 14:55 Apparently, at least the interpretations said must have 14:58 come true because people were paid good money for this. 15:02 Paul did not want the name of Jesus to be associated 15:06 with the Puthon spirit so he commended the spirit to 15:09 come out of her and immediately she was restored 15:12 to her right mind. 15:13 It was an amazing transformation that happened. 15:16 This girl, who all of her life, had been possessed by an 15:20 evil spirit is now free, free in Jesus. 15:23 A tremendous transformation happened, 15:26 but the devil was angry. 15:52 Her masters used her as a human tool. 15:54 They had no interest in the girl and now that she was 15:57 restored to her right mind they no longer could make 16:00 money from her, they were angry and seized Paul and Silas 16:03 and brought them here into the Roman forum and hauled 16:06 them before the authorities, before the magistrates 16:09 who would be on their platform. 16:11 There they accused them of doing things that were not 16:14 lawful for Romans to do. 16:16 Paul and Silas had done one act of random kindness, 16:20 restoring this girl to her rightful mind and now they 16:25 were accused falsely of undermining the very principles 16:29 of Rome, you see they had done nothing illegal. 16:33 They had only restored a slave girl to her right mind. 16:36 These men brought trumped up charges before the 16:40 authorities here in this forum. 16:42 And the authorities rushed to judgment. 16:46 You see Jews were permitted special permission in the 16:49 Roman empire, they can circumcise their children, 16:52 they could keep the Sabbath, they can practice ritual baths, 16:55 but they could not proselytize Roman citizens. 16:59 This is what the men accused them of, but they had not 17:02 proselytized a Roman citizen, this girl was a slave. 17:05 She was restored to her right mind in the name of Jesus. 17:09 The authorities rushed to judgment and mob mentality 17:13 set in, the Bible says. 17:41 All of this for doing a good deed for a slave girl who 17:43 have been possessed by an evil spirit. 17:46 Things happen so quickly that Paul and Silas could not 17:50 explain their side of the story, nor could they even 17:54 use their rights of appeal as Roman citizens. 17:58 They were stripped and publicly flogged, beaten with 18:02 rods within an inch of their life here in this forum. 18:05 Then they were brought up and placed in a prison, 18:09 the inner dungeon of the Roman jail, 18:11 a converted cistern. 18:13 There they were placed in the stocks, and when you think 18:17 about it, their feet were spread in such a way that only 18:20 way they could get comfortable was to lay down. 18:22 They're back was lacerated, it would be a horrible 18:25 experience, there they were placed in a jail. 18:29 Yet there they were singing, singing at midnight the 18:33 Bible says, singing because they could not sleep with 18:37 the pain from the lacerations they had experienced. 18:41 Singing and praying go hand-in-hand. 18:43 Later Paul would remind the Philippians. 18:55 I don't think they were singing at midnight 18:57 because they were happy. 18:59 You see happy comes from the English word hap which 19:02 means chance, and sometimes we by chance are happy is 19:06 when our circumstances are good. 19:08 And sometimes by chance sad, because our circumstances 19:12 are bad, but Bible doesn't use the word happy. 19:15 It says that they were filled with joy. 19:19 You see joy is not dependent upon circumstances, it is 19:23 a fruit of the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. 19:28 Paul and Silas could rejoice even though their rights as 19:32 Roman citizens had been violated. 19:43 Things that happen so quickly that Paul and Silas had not 19:45 been able to state that they were Roman citizens. 19:48 Their rights have been violated. 19:50 There may be times in your life when you too 19:54 will be wrongfully accused. 19:56 There may be times when people spread false rumors 19:59 about you, and there is no way you can clear up your 20:02 reputation, Paul writes to you in circumstances like 20:06 that and says, rejoice in the Lord always 20:09 and again I say rejoice. 20:11 Let's read on in the Bible. 20:42 Paul and Silas were singing at midnight, and the Bible 20:45 says at midnight a great earthquake shook this town. 20:49 It shook this city, and it shook so hard that the very 20:53 bar holding the two doors of the inner prison jolted out. 20:57 The door swung open and the very rocks that were holding 21:01 the stocks together, those very rocks came apart and 21:05 the prisoners were freed. 21:07 Paul and Silas however did not leave, they did not want 21:12 the good name of Christianity to be tarnished. 21:15 They knew they were Roman citizens and had done nothing 21:17 illegal and so they refused to leave at that time. 21:21 They did not run away. 21:22 The jailer was awakened by the earthquake and he came in 21:26 and recognized that his life was at risk. 21:30 The prisoners had escaped and he came in and drew 21:33 his sword to fall on it and commit suicide in 21:36 the great Roman tradition to protect his family honor. 21:39 But Paul called out and said, man don't do it, 21:43 don't do it, were all alive, we're here. 21:45 Don't kill yourself. 21:47 The jailer could not believe it and ordered lights, 21:49 torches to be brought and they looked in and saw all 21:52 the prisoners accounted for. 21:53 The man asked the most important question of his life. 21:56 He said, sirs what must I do to be saved? 22:00 What must I do to be saved? 22:02 How would you answer that? 22:04 Listen how Paul answered it, he said, believe in the 22:06 Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. 22:08 You and your household, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. 22:12 What tremendous words, that means a little more however 22:15 than just mental assent, it's like saying hey I believe 22:18 that George Washington was the first president of the 22:22 United States, to believe in the Lord means to yield 22:26 yourself, to surrender yourself, to commit yourself 22:31 to the Lord Jesus as your Christ, as your Messiah. 22:35 Notice how the Amplified Bible translates the passage. 22:53 To believe in the Lord Jesus means to yield your will 22:57 to Him, to believe in the Lord means to surrender your 23:01 heart, your mind, your soul, your life, 23:04 your entire being to Him. 23:06 The Bible goes on to say. 23:25 After the jailer accepted these words he took them to 23:28 a cistern and bathe their wounds in the water. 23:31 He washed their wounds, bathing them in the water. 23:35 Then Paul and Silas returned the favor by bathing the 23:39 Roman jailer and his family in the waters of baptism. 23:43 After he was baptized, he practice Christian hospitality 23:48 by taking them in and sitting them to eat at his 23:51 table they shared a sweet meal of communion. 23:54 Think about that, this jailer, this man was now filled 23:59 with joy the Bible says, filled with joy because he had 24:03 met Jesus Christ, filled with joy. 24:05 What a swing of emotions, a few hours earlier he was 24:08 ready to fall on a sword and take his own life. 24:10 But now the prisoners have not escaped, he met Jesus 24:14 and he was filled with joy. 24:17 He had peace in his heart, peace in his mind. 24:21 What a thrilling story, what a tremendous story. 24:25 The text goes on to say. 24:42 While the Bible says that the magistrates were now 24:46 terrified because of what had happened. 24:48 Some Bibles actually say, because of the earthquake the 24:52 magistrates called for Paul and Silas to be brought 24:56 before them, you see Romans believed that earthquakes 24:59 were a way that the gods would speak to them. 25:01 They believe they had a judgment that fell on this city 25:04 because of a misdeed they had done towards 25:07 these two innocent men. 25:08 Paul and Silas however, exercised their rights as Roman 25:13 citizens now and the Bible says. 25:51 Paul and Silas did not come out, they said no we have 25:54 been wronged as Roman citizens, our rights have been 25:57 abused and Cicero wrote. 26:06 So Paul and Silas refused to come out. 26:08 They said no let those men, come and let them take us out. 26:12 In other words, our good name, the good name of Christianity 26:16 has been wronged, therefore, let them come 26:19 and publicly apologize to clear up the good name. 26:22 The magistrates were terrified, they could lose their 26:25 positions, their possessions, even their life. 26:29 What would the men do? 26:31 Well Paul and Silas did not want revenge, they only 26:35 wanted the name of Christianity cleared up and so they 26:39 went to the house of Lydia where they had sweet 26:42 fellowship with a slave girl, the Roman jailer, 26:45 the family of Lydia and the jailer's family. 26:48 Sweet fellowship, how long they stayed we do not know. 26:51 But soon they were off and would again take the 26:55 Via Egnatia and go south through Amphipolis and Apollonia 27:01 on their way to the great port city of Thessalonica 27:04 there on the Thermaic Bay and that is where we will 27:08 be going our next video. 27:10 Don't miss the exciting story as we go to Thessalonica 27:14 and share the story of Paul taking the good news, 27:18 the blessed hope to the church he found in that city. 27:22 For now from here in Philippi, let's pray together. 27:27 Father in heaven we thank You for the tremendous story 27:31 of how the gospel penetrated a Roman colony 27:34 right here in Philippi. 27:35 How You touched the mind of a merchant princess, 27:39 the seller of purple, Lydia from Thyatira. 27:42 How You changed her heart and we thank You, how You 27:44 reached down and touched a girl possessed by an evil 27:47 spirit and delivered her in the name of Jesus. 27:49 We thank You Lord for bringing hope to a despairing 27:52 man who is ready to take his own life and fall upon his 27:55 sword, and we praise You for that Lord Jesus. 27:58 And we know that You are alive and well today and that 28:00 You can touch our lives just like You did Lydia. 28:02 That You can change our lives just like that slave girl. 28:05 That You can bring hope for lives just like that Roman 28:09 jailer, and so in the name of Jesus we too want to yield 28:13 our lives to You, we too want to surrender are all to 28:16 You, that we might like Paul and Silas have peace, joy 28:19 no matter what the circumstances around us. 28:23 We pray in Jesus name Amen! 28:26 Again don't miss our next video as we follow Via Egnatia 28:31 as to go south down through Amphipolis, Apollonia, and 28:35 all the way down to the Thermaic gulf and Thessalonica. 28:39 We will see you then. |
Revised 2014-12-17