Grace in Greece

Grace In Greece

2014-01-26

Acts 16:16-24

16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

Paul and Barnabus “sharply disagreed” on John Mark so they went separate ways. 

·      God was guiding Paul and Silas to Macedonia for 2^nd Missionary Journey. Acts 16:6-10

o   In Macedonia (today Greece): cities of Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth &

§  Philippi…1^st stop of Paul’s 2^nd Missionary Journey. Acts 16:12-14

There was no synagogue (10 men needed to form) but only a women’s prayer meeting.

·      Lydia, a Gentile proselyte like Cornelius, gathered with the Jewish women.

o   She was a rich business woman. Purple (murex shellfish) goods were expensive.

·      Lydia put faith in Jesus because the Lord opened her heart.

o   Evangelism is not salesmanship but rather it is God’s work. Man can't open a heart.

§  Faith is the product of election, not election product of faith. 

In Lydia’s conversion, the Philippian church was born & Satan immediately tried to infiltrate thru a fortune-telling slave girl.  (Greek implies she was very young)  Acts 16:16-18

·      Double bondage: slave to a man & an evil spirit.

o   Only God knows the future. Demons do know things because of  centuries of human observance/info.

·      Ironically she announced a salvation that she herself did not possess.

o   Satan speaks some truth when it suits his purposes. AOL 2 Cor 11:13-14

·      People naturally assume she with Paul & Silas & thus it damaged the message of Gospel.

o   Jesus Christ might be seen as just another savior in a pantheon of Greek gods.

Frustrated with the daily disruption of ministry, and not wanting Gospel associated with evil; Paul responded with Christ-like compassion, doing it in such a way that God was glorified & help was given to the poor woman.

·      We don’t know what happened to the girl,but her Masters became angry:

o   There went a lost source of lucrative income.

§  TODAY: People tolerate Christianity as long as it doesn’t hurt business.

·      The demons who first flattered Paul now tried to destroy him.  Acts 16:18-24

o   Satan the serpent > Satan lion: falsely accuse, savagely beat, unjustly imprison…inner prison (solitary confinement) with feet in stocks.

Something extraordinary and unexpected happened in midst of injustice and suffering:

·      Paul and Silas praised God instead of complaining! Acts 16:25a

·      They probably did not "feel" like worshiping….as they were likely aching, tired, and scared.

o   Their songs expressed a confident trust that God controls every circumstance for their good and His glory.

Your response when you do the God honoring and right thing but are wrongly accused &/or unjustly treated reveals what you believe about God.

·      A joyful attitude does not depend on circumstances or getting justice, but an understanding of God’s sovereignty, character, & goodness. 1 Thes. 5:16-18, Rom 8:28, Gen 50:20, 1 Peter 5:10, 2 Cor 4:16-17 & 12:8-10.

·      Then Holy Spirit enables us to rejoice in suffering & praise God in it & even for it.

A joyful attitude will provide a powerful testimony of God's transforming grace.

·      Joy in the midst of suffering, injustice, and sorrow always get attention of people around you. 

Pursuing Jesus: Warring against Sin, Fighting for Joy

Pursuing Jesus: Warring against Sin, Fighting for Joy

Hebrews 12:1-4

·      READ text

·      Example – Pusan perimeter

o   June 25^th, 1950, 75,000 North Korean soldiers pour over the border into S. Korea. And so starts the Korean War

o   The Korean War is often called the “Korean Conflict”

o   The U.S. comes to aid S. Korea, but there’s a problem:

§  We’re not ready for war, we have a peace-time mindset

§  We supply our troops with outdated equipment & training

§  Result is we were pushed almost off the continent

§  We weren’t ready for the battle because we had just fought hard and wanted ease…and I think we spend a lot of time that way as Christians…we lack vigilance when it comes to sin

·      Have you thought about how the Bible speaks in regards to fighting sin?

o   This passage (and many others) speaks of a potential bloody struggle

o   The NT equates it to war

o   What do we really believe?

o   Why is there seemingly so little victory in the Church?

§  We’ve made peace with our sin

§  We didn’t understand the battle

·      Three things this morning:

o   Understand the conflict

o   Understand the rules of engagement

o   Understand the goal

·      What are these?

o   The conflict – is a race in the midst of a war

o   The rules of engagement

§  running a race that is fighting for joy

§  battlefield – is the mind

§  (didn’t see that one coming)

o   But, most important: The goal – is a person

o   To miss any one of these you are likely to lose the war

§  not for your salvation, but for your joy!

·      Understand the conflict – a race in the midst of a war

o   A race

§  (v:1b) “and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us”

§  (1 Corinthians 9:24a) “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run...”

§  Where is this race set? That’s important

o   In a war – is it biblical?

§  (2 Corinthians 10:3) “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.”

§  (James 4:1) “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?”

§  (1 Peter 2:11) “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.”

§  (1 Timothy 1:18) “This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare.”

o   So if we’re at war, we’re soldiers

§  You’re a soldier

§  (2 Timothy 2:3) “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”

§  (2 Timothy 2:4a) “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits”

§  entangled = to become involved in an activity to the point of interference with another activity or objective

o   Believe me, Satan takes this more seriously than we do

·      Understand the rules of engagement – running the race is a fight for joy takes place in the battlefield of the mind.

o   Fight for joy

§  Joy is not an emotion as much as it is a state of the soul

§  That is Paul’s context for Philippians, because where is he?

§  (Philippians 3:1 & 4:4) “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you…Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

§  Where is Paul when he writes this?

§  (8 times in 4 chaps so 4:8 = persecution)

§  In the midst of persecution there can be joy

§  (1 Timothy 6:12a) “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called”

¨ the eternal life – the gospel

¨ preach the gospel to yourself daily, hourly, moment by moment

§  This active not passive, how else do we fight for joy and against sin:

§  Don’t run the race alone

¨ (1 Corinthians 12:26) “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”

¨ Marathon vs. relay

¨ Competing against not with

¨ Exhausted vs. invigorated

§  (1 Corinthians 9:24) “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run…? So run that you may obtain it.”

¨ (Go back to (verse 1) “lay aside every weight…”

¨ What’s worse is your running alone, a marathon in boots…

¨ Jesus said, “If your right hand…”

Ø do what?

Ø put a Band-Aid on it?

Ø No, cut it off

Ø Remember “Fireproof” when Kirk Cameron throws out…

§  Sometimes it will be that drastic physically, but mostly:

o   Where the battle is – the mind

§  A battle for truth – all too often we think it is moral, exterior conformity, when sin is really raging inside of us, and is the seat of our sin

§  (Matthew 15:18-20) ‘ “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰ These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” ’

§  It’s a battle in the mind first

§  (Romans 7:23)  “but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.”

¨ Doing what? Waging war!

¨ Paul, is writing 20 some years after his conversion

¨ Lasting change come from right belief (that’s why the Xian life is, “Repent and Believe the gospel”

§  What does this look like?

¨ Argue with your spouse

Ø You walk away and start thinking, “if they cared, they would have_____ (most likely you’re thinking agreed!)”

Ø You now get angry, then hurt

Ø You sulk from self-pity

Ø God, why? I deserve better!

Ø You are sinning, you let the lie develop and gain ground

¨ Now, the battle for Truth:

Ø my spouse loves me

Ø we simply disagree

Ø God’s honor is more important than me being right

Ø What is God wanting to do in my life?

¨ I shared at Bible study and the leader disagreed with me, and obviously in public

Ø I start thinking, “You don’t know as much as you think”

Ø I bet there are other people who agree with me

Ø This isn’t a loving place

¨ Truth

Ø I never looked at the passage that way before, but I’ll give it an honest chance

Ø God places teachers to help me grow in my walk

Ø I am more concerned with how others view me than how God sees me

§  (Romans 12:2a) “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind”

§  (2 Corinthians 10:5b) “…we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” [NASB]

§  To get to truth I MUST fight for it

·      Understand the goal – Jesus Himself

o   (v:3) consider Him…that you may not grow weary

o   How often do you just want Jesus?

§  Friday morning

§  I realize how little I desire that

§  Like Mary to sit at His feet

§  rids me of fear and worry and frustration

o   A world free of difficulty without Jesus? That’s really what most of us are shooting for, we just can bring ourselves to admit it

o   Why do I act like this? It’s because I really believe: “I AM BETTER THAN YOU”

§  You have a handout

§  We live like this because we don’t battle for truth in a way that makes the gospel the central part of our lives

§  I need to be more concerned about my pursing Jesus than your faults

§  I have a system of Christianity and you fall outside of it, I have a rule for everything

§  I’m OCD

¨ If you have this, it can be really hard to give grace

¨ clothes (hangers)

¨ eating food

¨ arranging books (Eric moves them)

¨ order in my life (MY order is the standard for others)

o   What I’ve really done is replaced Jesus

§  We can do that with very good things

§  When good things are bad

¨ I read my Bible every day

¨ I pray for 30 minutes

¨ I only read non-fiction

§  I replace fighting the war with a peacetime lack of vigilance

§  It is actually more tiring than fighting the war:

o   (Colossians 2:21-23) “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” ²² (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? ²³ These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”

o   Unless all our hope is built on Jesus, and His righteousness, it’s just religion, not Christianity

o   Believe the gospel of grace is what really saves you, and sanctifies you…and it’s as good as it sounds, even though it sounds too good to be true!

o   Revel in it, soak in it = (verses on table, etc.)

o   If you’re weary, it’s probably not Christianity; so Come to Jesus, and fight, make war in His strength to battle against sin and fight for joy.

o   Remember:

o   (Hebrews 12:4) “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”