Image Is Everything Part 3 (Paul & Silas)
Image Is Everything • Sermon • Submitted
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Paul is on his second missionary journey.
In Acts 16 Paul meets Timothy
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. 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. 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.
thai·uh·tee·ruh
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.
“A slave girl”
She was a slave…
She was not a woman but a girl
She had a Spirit of divination
Spirt of divination: — a pagan form of foretelling or declaring secret or obscure knowledge through signs, omens, or supernatural powers.
Spirit of divination translate two Greek words, “a spirit, a python.”
This concept goes back to the Greek city of Delphi where the god Apollo was believed to be embodied in a python snake.
The original priestess at Delphi was purported to be possessed by Apollo and thereby able to predict the future.
Therefore anyone possessed by the python spirit could foretell coming events. No doubt an actual demon gave such a person predictive powers.
Demons took advantage of people’s worship of false gods.
I believe that a person can have the Spirit of Divination…
#1 Satan has been here since the beginning…
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
Satan and his team knows your family members…
#2 He has a course for you to follow…
in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
Course: era n. — a period of history having some distinctive feature.
Satan has a strategic system!
Not only is it strategic but it’s current!
“She brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling.”
She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 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.
Paul, having become greatly annoyed…
The problem wasn’t the statement!
The problem was the spirit that was in the person making the statement.
Her statement was bringing credibility to her ability!
Paul turned aside and said to the Spirit!
My battle is not against flesh and blood
But my battle is a spiritual battle
“I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.”
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. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.”
Her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone…
#1 They seized Paul and Silas
#2 Dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers
#3 They brought them to the magistrates and make a statement…
“These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city, They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as romans to accept or practice.”
The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely.
#4 The crowd joined in attacking them
#5 The magistrates tore the garments off them
#6 They beat them with Rods - Inflicting many blows upon them
#7 They threw them into prison
Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
He put them into a dungeon or more secure place
He fastened their feet in the stocks…
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
“About Midnight”
All this happened on the same day....
Seized
Dragged
Falsely accused
Crowd joined in attacking them
garments tore off of them
Beaten
Don’t fast forward to midnight!
The Prison had other prisoners....
It didn’t matter how they got there, they all had one thing in common
They were in the dark!
Image is Everything!
What you say matters…
What you do matters...
Compare their day to their midnight response....
They could’ve complained
They could’ve had a negative attitude
They could’ve talked about the injustice and corrupted system
They could’ve been angry at God
They could’ve doubted their assignment
How do I handle dark places?
I have to realize that people are listening to me in my dark place!
Paul & Silas
Prayed.... In spite of their day
They acknowledged God
They began to thank Him
They made their request known unto God..
The God who is a deliverer
The God who is a way maker
The God who is in control
Remember prayer doesn’t change God - Prayer changes me
Prayer aligns me back to the Fathers will
The prisoners heard them praying…
No matter what transpired in their day… Their response was to pray
Prayer should be our first response…
Paul & Silas
Sang Hymns… In spite of their day
Hebrew poetry/songs were written to evoke emotion
They did not sing to express their emotional state
They sang to change their emotional state
They sang hymns from scriptures
Psalm 34 is a song...
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
to bless (favor) v. — to invoke (or enact) divine favor, often implying a positive disposition or kind actions toward the recipient.
Invoke: Call on / Call earnestly upon
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
Soul: Mind / Will / Emotions
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Despite everything that transpired throughout the day, They had a song
The prisoners heard them!