ACTS  16

1 He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a didciple named Timothy lived whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek.

2 The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.

3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him  because of the jews who lived in the area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

4 As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey.

5 So the churches were strenthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.

7 When they came to the border of Mysia they tried to enter Bithynia but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.

8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.

9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, Come over to Macedonia and help us.

10 After Paul had seen the vision we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

 11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace and the next day on to Neapolis.

12 From there we traveled to Philippi a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macodonia. And we stayed there several days.

13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.

14  One of those listening there was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Pauls message.

15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. If you consider me a believer in the Lord, she said, come and stay at my house. And she persuaded us.

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune telling.

17 The girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, These men are the servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.

18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her! At that moment the spirit left her.

19 When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.

20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into a uproar

21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.

22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten.

 23 After they had been severely flogged, the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.

24 Upon recieveing such orders, he put them in the inner cell  and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymms to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybodys chains came loose.

27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.

28 But Paul shouted, Dont harm yourself! We are all here !

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.

30 He then brought them out and asked, Sirs what must I do to be saved?

31 They replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved you and your household.

32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.

33 at that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized.

 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them: he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God he and his whole family.

35 When it was daylight the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: release  those men.

36 The jailer told Paul, The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.

37 But Paul said 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.

38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens,  they were alarmed.

39  They came to appease them and escorted them out of the prison, requesting that they leave the city.

40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydias house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they left.

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. Acts 16:29

I will make those who are of the synagogue of satan who claim they are Jews though  they are not, but they are liars I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Revelation 3:9

TESTED AND TEMPTED

 Thomas J. Grace

1 Paul returns to Lystra and Derbe in Lystra  where the people believed that Paul and Barnabas were gods because God did heal a man  Paul had prayed for who was lame from birth. In Acts 14 there they stoned Paul, and believed he was dead, when the brothers found his body and prayed for him he was soon able to walk  on the next day they traveled to Derbe. In Lystra Paul would meet Timothy who would become a member of the ministry team and would be called his son by Paul. This is the man Paul would write 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy to.

     Timothys mother was a Jew and his father was a Greek. 2 The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of Timothy who at this time may have only been in his early teens. The brothers must have already known Timothy to be a Christian who may have believed after Paul had been there before had ministered to either his mother or grandmother.  2 Timothy 1:5 When I call into rememberance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. Paul decides this very young man without any special training would now be traveling with him and be a working member of the ministry. Paul circumcised Timothy because he would not be allowed in the synagogues unless he had been because everyone knew his father was a Greek.

     4 As they moved from town to town they did read the letter from Jerusalem the councils directions that Gentiles should obey.  5 Churches were established and members were added daily as Paul and Silas went into these cities they would preach and teach about Jesus Christ and both Jews and Gentiles would become believers be baptized in water and filled with the holy Spirit. Chrurhes were formed elders were appointed and ministries began and some were sent out to bring the gospel to others.

     6 After ministering to people in Phrygia and Galatia Paul and Silas were praying about where they should go next. They would be thinking of Asia as a huge harvest field where the gospel had not been heard before but the Holy Spirit forbids them to go to Asia.  Paul knew that his work and plans were not greater than Gods who would not leave any nation or people behind and would have plans for Asia to hear the word of God and some other people for them to spreaed the gospel to.  7 Paul goes to Mysia where we are not told anything about his work there. he plans to go to Bithynia where once again the Holy Spirit tells him not to go. Later Paul will be warned not to go to Jerusalem several times because he will be in danger there. Here he obeys the Holy Spirit who forbids him to go to these two places but does ignore the warnings the Spirit gives him through the prophet Agabus. Pauls reply was Acts 21:13 Then Paul answered, What are you doing weeping ,and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

     8 Paul arrives in Troas wher Paul later wrote 2 Corinthians 2:12 Furthermore when I  came to Troas to preach Christs gospel and a door was opened to me of the Lord. 9 There in Troas Paul had a vision at night of a man of Macedonia praying and spoke to him sayin Come to Macedonia and help us.  10 After being told no twice about their own plans by the Holy Spirit now in a vision they see where God intends for them to minister and with that understanding they prepare and leave for Macedonia.

     11 They leave on a boat and sail to Samothrace and the following day were at Neapolis. These are travel stops and no ministry seemed to take place in these cities. 12 Next they arrived in the district of Macedonia at the city of Philippi where they remained for several days. 13 Because there was no Synagogue in Philippi on the Sabbath they went out to the river and began to pray and worship God. There they met some women who would have heard them pray and they began to speak to the women. 14 There they met a woman named Lydia a Gentile woman who believed in God as Cornelius had before God had spoke to him to bring Peter to his home. We read that God had opened her heart her prayers just as the prayers of Cornelius were heard by God and her heart was opened to believe in Jesus Christ. Ezekiel 11:19 I will give them a undivided heart and put a new Spirit in them; I will remove from them  their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. This is a promise for all of us who disire to believe that God will change our hearts and allow us to become believers in His own Son our Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. Had God diverted Paul and Silas away from two mission fields because he had heard her prayer and needed Paul to speak to one woman, and your salvation is just as valuable to God that he will send someone to preach to you so that you may believe also.  Lydia bacame the first Christian believer in Europe maybe you will become the first believer in your family and on your job or in your neighborhood.  Like Lydia God will speak to you Romans 10:8 The word is near you: it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is the word of faith that we are proclaiming. We must begin to believe and have faith that God does hear our prayer and trust what is in our hearts is God calling us to know Him. Romans 10:10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. And of course she might have been going to the river on every Sabbath and continue to do so if someone did not obey God and arrive where God had sent him. Romans 10:14,15 And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? So we see the prayers of Lydia the response of God the sending by the Holy Spirit and the travel and the work of Paul and Silas to bring the message of Christ to Lydia.  15 Lydia and all her household believed and were baptized this would include family members and servants and those who worked with her in her business. She must have went home and told everyone there about Jesus Christ and brought them back to the river where Paul was still praying and he baptized all of them. She invited Paul and the others to come to stay at her home, she said if You consider me a believer in the Lord come stay at my home.  Lydia like the woman at the well John 4 began to tell others about Christ as soon as she believed this is a woman who will continue to speak of Christ and bring many to believe.

     16 One day while on the way to the place of prayer by the river a young slave girl began to follow them she had a spirit that could predict the future and earned money for her owners by fortune telling. To be paid for this she had to be correct and accurate if she was wrong she would be punished for her mistakes. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 Let no one among you be found who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interperts omens, engages in witchcraft, or cast spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Any one who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out the nations before you. Paul would know of Gods words about such a person and would not want such a spirit near him and his work. This spirit could be dangerous and would affect even the men who came with Paul and also strongly affect those hearing the gospel for the first time. 17 She followed them and would shout out These men are servants of the most High God who are telling you the way to be saved. Legion a man full of demons approached Jesus and used the words Most High God Mark 5:7 He shouted at the top of his voice, What do you want with me Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you will not torture me! We see many cases of the demons speaking and knowing Jesus and they understand his power. This girls spirit recognized the Spirit and power of God in Paul and spoke out in a way that might protect her. 

     This fortune teller demon was able to mix the word of God which satan knows well with its own demon power.   2 Corinthians 11:14 ,15 And no wonder for satan himself masquarades as a angel of light. It is not surprising then , if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. So many false religions will try to blend some stories about Jesus and some scripture  in order to make themselves appear Christian friendly while they only decieve many. Now Paul had been persecuted by many people Jews and Gentiles have beaten, whipped and thrown him in prison and he had never struck back. When Paul met Bar-Jesus Acts 13: 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. you are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun. He was a false prophet and sorcerer that did interfere with the work of the gospel but there Paul did not cast out the spirit. 17 Paul speaks to the girl and the spirit In the name of Jesus I command you to come out of her!  at that moment the spirit left her. Paul was troubled but we do not hear any special command to cast out this spirit by the Holy Spirit. Paul acted as Jesus commanded and had done Himself many times to cast out demons.  Mark 16:17 In My name they will cast out demons. This was a command and Jesus has provided the power of God for all of us to do this and Paul was obeying the basic command of Christ while he cast out this demon.

     Fortune telling today would seem to many to be harmless fun and entertainment there are no harmless playful demons each one is there to prevent you and all others from believeing in Jesus Christ. Demons and evil spirits are not a thing of the past, they do exist today, there may be more demons and harmful spirits in this world today than ever before. They and the people who use and associate with spirits are more open and public than ever before. They can be learned about in books movies and even taught about in lectures at schools, groups will freely gather and claim their belief and fellowship with demons. In these last days when these demons know that their leader Satan is coming in this world to rule and conquer their boldness has become greater than ever before. Many churches have decided to ignore the command of Jesus Christ and will not be active in the ministry of casting out demons when they are confronted by people with problems that are caused by demons.

      19 When her owners saw there was no way to make money from her fortune telling they seized Paul and Silas and brought them to the authorities to be charged and punished. Why had satan choose these men to make a profit from his services unlike Gods free gift of Salvation through the death of Jesus Christ satans gifts are not free and only go to those who serve him.

      Did these men have demons also it could be their greed that allowed them to use this young girl for their own benefit which must have harmed this girl. There are no innocent partners in the work of satan and many will suffer for what you may gain. 

      20 Before the magistrates they said these men are Jews and have created a uproar in our city, there did not seem to be a problem beforehand as Paul seemed to be doing most of his preaching by the river side. They did not mention how they were now personally losing funds because of the loose of the fortune teller. 21 They have advocated customs that are unlawful for us to accept, as satans workers in this city it may have been impossible for them to accept the teaching of Paul about Jesus Christ. It is certain that Paul did not teach anything unlawful that would cause a riot or disruption of any kind.

     Just as when the crowd spoke to Pilate and and demanded Jesus should be crucified stated that Jesus claimed to be a king in violation of Roman law which had Caesar as their king John 19:12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, If you let this man go, you are no friend to Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar. This of course was a false charge against Jesus and was a common charge against Paul that he was to cause problems for the existing government and customs. Paul and Silas were given no opportunity to speak.

     22 The magistrates ordered that Paul and Silas were to be stripped and beaten and the crowd joined in the attack. They were whipped and beaten by a crowd of angry men without even hearing any description of what the charges against them were, there was no evidence no witnesses and no chance to even deny the charges. Timothy who was half Greek and Luke who was a Greek were not arrested since the real problem of the fortune teller was not told to the magistrates it could be they would expect a Jewish identity was enough to punish them.  23 They were severely beaten they were put in the prison and the guard was told to watch them carefully. It would not seem that these two men were in any condition to break out of prison. 24 The guard put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in stocks. With their feet in chains and their bodies saw bruised and bleeding there would be no rest from the pain unless they passed out.

     25 At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymms to God. Mark 14:26 When they had sung a hymm, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Jesus knew what was about to happen His arrest and His death on the cross but He was still able to sing as He prepared to pray for the last time before His own death. Paul and Silas who might be killed in the morning by order of the magistrates or by the angry mob who would not like the loss of the fortune teller. As the other prisoners would listen and be stunned that these two men were singing during all their suffering the prisoners may have been in prison before Paul had arrived and had not heard any of their message. Did God want Paul to minister to prisoners or did God want Paul to know what happened to the Christians he had once put in prison. Maybe Paul had once heard the Christians he put in prison pray and sing hymms to God while they waited to be sentenced.

     26 Suddenly there was a earthquake that shook the prison and loosed the chains of all the prisoners and all the prison doors flew open. This should have caused a large escape that did not happen, these other men were criminals but they did not leave the prison. What caused these men to remain and face long prison terms or death for their crimes as they listened to Paul and Silas sing they became more interested in their message than their freedom. In Acts 12 Peter was in prison and a angel came to assist him to leave the prison here with Paul there was no angel to direct him what to do when the prison doors flew open. Paul and Silas who were turned away from two other places they desired to go to  they obeyed God when He sent them to Macedonia and now they were beaten and thrown in prison and they were not complaining because they obeyed God but they sang hymms and prayed to God and now when they could escape they stayed and ministered to the prisoners and the guard. 

      Paul and Silas were tested twice they were tempted by satan who brought the young girl fortune teller to their attention. They might have choosen to use the girl as the men were doing for their own profit or allowed her to continue to be used by these men but they acted to set her free as Jesus would have done.  They did know that by casting out this spirit the owners would come against them because of their loss of income. They were tested by God when the doors to the prison opened and they could have escaped quickly and left the other prisoners without the word of God.

     27 The jailer woke up and when he saw the open doors of the prison he was about to kill himself because he believed all the prisoners were gone. In Acts 12 when they could not find Peter Herod questioned and had all the guards killed. 28 Paul shouts out Dont kill yourself we are all here. The guard may have been the same man that chained them he may have dragged their bodies across the floor of the prison to the place where they were chained, he may have beaten them as part of the mob. Paul still shouts out to this man dont harm yourself. This is mercy and forgigeness just as when Jesus called out from the cross in some of His own very last words. Luke 23:34 Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.

     29 The jailer ran in to the cells and when he saw Paul and Silas two men in his own mind that should have been happy to see him dead were calling for him not to harm himself. He fell down and trembled before Paul and Silas. Just as Cornelius had done when he first spoke to Peter. Acts 10:25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet in reverence.  The jailers  trembles were caused by fears that he was about to end his own life and suddenly knowing these two men posessed some knowledge about God he would now need to believe. 30 The jailer brings them out and ask What must I do to be saved? Coming very close to the end of his life made him aware that he must know the true Savior as just moments ago he knew he was about to die alone without a savior for all the many sins he must have committed. 31 Paul replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household. He might have thouht  he would hear a difficult work or a long process with many rules, but instead he was told how simple it is to be saved. Only Believe.

     They would share many stories about Christ that would include His death and resurrection. 32 Paul and Silas went to the jailers home in the middle of the night where they would teach about forgiveness of sins and new life in Jesus Christ to his whole family. They would believe in Jesus Christ. 33 The jailer washed the wounds of Paul and Silas and provided bandages for their sores, and they went out to the river where they were baptized. At the river there may have been some there praying for Paul and Silas maybe Timothy and Luke were there or they may have been praying for them back at Lydias house, but the river did seem to be their place of prayer.

     34 After the baptisms the jailer brings them home for a meal when Gods work is done it is time to enjoy a meal and have some rest. Paul and Silas do not contact Lydia or go to her home the work of God is with this family and once again we are not even told the jailers name. the jailer takes Paul and Silas back to the prison so far we are not told of any word from God that they will be safe and released as they return to the prison. 35 The magistrates sent a message to the jailer to release Paul and Silas, we are not told of the fate of the other prisoners who we believe did remain in the prison, but they did hear the word of God from Paul. 

     36 The jailer tells Paul you are free Go in Peace the magistrates have decided to let you go.  The magistrates nust have heard the true story of why these men had charged Paul and Silas concerning the fortune teller and decided they should release them.  It could have been Timothy who went to the magistrates and told them the cause of the problem was the men were upset because Paul cast the spirit out of the fortune teller. 37 Paul states they have beat us publicly and put us in prison now let them come and take us out publicly to show all that we are innocent and they have made a mistake by taking this action against us. This story would be told in other cities and might prevent them from being abused again and would help protect the other Christians that will remain in this city. Their statement about both Paul and Silas being Roman citizens did gain the attention of the magistrates who feared they could be punished themselves for abuseing and violateing the rights of Romans. 38 The news about the Roman citizens in their prison worried them and they decided to go to the prison. 39 They came to appease them and apolige for this action, but there was not a opportunity for Paul to speak to them about the Lord. The magistrates escorted them out of the prison and requested that they leave the city.  Now they would be upset again with the fortune tellers owners who had lied to them and now put them in a dangerous position and may have punished them for createing this problem. 40 Paul and Silas go to Lydias home where they meet with the other believers they would pray and thank God for their release and safety. they would appoint someone as the leader or elder of the group of believers and encourage them to continue to spread the word of God about our Lord Jesus Christ.  

      What about the fortune teller has God forgotten about her and left her at the mercy of her owners, or did Paul speak to Lydia who may take her in and minister and teach her about Christ. They would leave and face new trials and temptations and face persecutions from both Jews and Gentiles in new cities as more and more choose to believe their message. New trials would be faced by each of them as they would be seperated and have their own work in different cities under new conditions.

CHRIST LOVES YOU. AMEN. COME LORD JESUS