Philippians 1:1 and Acts 16:6-40
This message originally delivered February 3, 1991.
Please open your Bibles to the book of Philippians. And also Acts chapter 16. The Book of Philippians. In Acts chapter 16, we are strongly committed to something called expository preaching. If you had to say, what is the main concern of your workweek, Tim coffin as a pastor, I would say how I am doing in my studies preparing for the message on Sundays. But it's not just that I get up on Sunday and preach about anything I want to. I think that we need to be committed strongly and I have a lot of reasons that I will be able to get into today that Expository Preaching is the best. And what I mean by that is this thematic verse by verse preaching through books of the Bible. For instance, you start in chapter one verse one of the book, and you preach all the way through the end of the book. Now, the reason I say that this is so important, is this. It surely helped guard against hobbyhorses. Now men say it's a total preventative for hobbyhorses, but it helped guard against all the orders, because you have to face all of the issues, you have to face all of the verses there in the book of Philippians, for instance, which we will be doing, that also should help with blind spots, because again, you must face it off, you just can't come to some verses because they are you know, and it's been a lot of time on one version that just sort of skipped over say, Well, that was sort of flipped in the Holy Spirit wasn't watching you went on vacation that day. It also should allow us to have the whole counsel of God be taught and hopefully understood, you know why? Because you have to cover everything. If you cover everything in the book you cover to the best you can you cover all of the points that God wants us to understand that in the last few years of this church, I preached through things like this, the 10 commandments, and then we preached on the Sermon on the Mount. We preach through the book of Leviticus, I don't know if some of you can remember that. But we preach eight months in the Book of Leviticus, and then we went to John's gospel, and then two years, we just finished about seven and a half months and Amos in the fall. And sort of balance that out, we're gonna go to Philippians. And we think is very, very important. There's, here's why you can always you talk to a cult member, I can name the cult, but you could talk to almost any cold member, and they'll pull birth here, then they'll go over here and they'll pull verse there, and they'll go over here and they'll pull verse there. And here's the thing, even preachers on TV, I was listening to one this morning, I was putting my tie on and getting dressed. And this guy is I was listening to a lot of good things. But four or five of the verses that he used, were totally out of context. Because I thought through that content, he was using them in a way that God never intended them to be used. You may think, Well, isn't that up your interpretation? No, I think we need to understand that God has given us a mind we just don't feel everything. We are such a feeling oriented Christianity. We not just wants to read as a lie. I don't feel anything about that. Raghu but I do feel something about that verse. We're supposed to understand the Bible you're given us might remember when we dedicate our bodies to the Lord, Romans 12, we're supposed to do so and not to be conformed the world we have a renewed mind. We think that obliquely, but in order to think biblically, we've got to think textually or through the text. Now, here's some reasons why I want us to start the Epistle of Philippians we just finished Amos. That's one reason Amos is not on you know this dinner, you guys made it through Amos, you're gonna get to pick on compromising back buddy references What the It's probably also because of the war. These are days of, of our difficulties in in a little trauma and had a name people told me that had trouble sleeping and things in the early days of the war. And also because we were in a recession and just all of it the unevenness around us. Philippians is one of the most encouraging books in the New Testament. We asked you this question this morning. How many of you have Philippians as your favorite book of the Bible? Would you raise your hand? 123456 I thought it'd be more. So many people, how many of this how many people right now could quote a verse from Philippians regime. Because I'm flipping all the time. I had one man tell me because I feel like I'm in a rut. I just find myself every time I get a little a little bit down. I just find myself going through Philippians over and over. Listen to what one Bible scholar wrote of all of the letters of Paul, that he wrote the churches. This one is the Philippians stands out as being the most personal to get there. No sharp rebukes of the congregation Mark joyful spirit, no disturbing problems that threaten the progress of the church. The warnings are of a cautionary and preventative nature and they're always in order. The frequent emphasis on Christ explains the underlying relationship to Paul and his readers. The name of Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus, Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, or Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior curve 51 times in the 104 verses. Another one of the key words in Philippians is joy, joy and rejoice is found 16 times, at least in this book, Philippians do something else. There's nothing about Paul's apostleship he starts all the other letters, Paul an apostle coming with authority. But you don't hear that here. You see Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to the saints, in Christ Jesus at Philippi. And probably this was because this was Paul's the congregation that believe me and I have read this this week, that there are stacks of material you can write read about, and we could study about and have all kinds of debates between where was Paul when he wrote this? And and, and, you know, are you sure that it was Paul? And from what prison did he writes? And all these things? Let me just cut through all of that, because I don't think you're gonna go home and live a Christian life any differently whether I tell you that or not. I think this the Paul wrote it. While under trial, you can read verses 19 through 24. He thinks he might be dying and think you may be dead soon. I think he wrote it from Rome while in prison, because 113 talks about the palace guard for 22 talks about theater of household, it was somewhere around the year 60 to 63 ad. I didn't hear any Amen. That doesn't that help you, when you hear about between year 60 and 63. At the city, of course, was syllabi, I would be pretty confident to say that that was the city. All right, that's where it was to the Philippians. And this was the first city of Macedonia it was a colony and the Roman when they would form a colony of the Roman Empire, they would come in and immediately set it up as if it were a miniature Rome. That is, as far as its government, its habit, its way of life were concerned, it was a colony protected by Rome on the frontiers of the empire. And by the way, something that's very interesting, and then I'll refer to it again. The second is Philippi was the first European city reached for Christ. Think about that. Very interesting. Now, Paul planted the church in Philippi, on a second missionary journey, if you're one that likes to chart out the missionary journeys with Paul on his second missionary journey, he comes the Philippi and he plans security. But now I want you and by the way, just to say one more thing about how much love Paul had for the flipping, you can see things. Look at verse chapter one, verse three, I thank my God every time I remember you, in all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel, and it will heal the first day. Go to chapter four. And look at verse one. Therefore, my brother, you whom I love, and long for my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord dear friends, look, I love you my joint account. It's such an incredibly close knit bond relationship with Paul, he founded the church as you go to act 16. Here's what's significant. In Acts chapter 16, you have actually how the Church was founded, you have the record of the beginning and the founding of the church at Philippi. March 3 1985, we had our first service over at the Holiday Inn of College Park Baptist Church, I can tell you some funny stories, stories about how the Church was founded stories about the first Bible study stories about back when Kyle was the treasurer and the Head usher and everything all at once. And, and in fact, he was the whole right side of the congregation at the beginning. And I can tell you all kinds of interesting ways in which God blessed us and helped us as we got started. But anyway, let's look at Acts chapter 16. And see what happened when Paul was at Philippi and founded the church. First off, I want you to start in verse six of Acts chapter 16. I'm gonna skim from chapter six, verse six, all the way through verse 40, in a rather quick way, and then draw some important including, look at verse six. Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Berea and delecia hadn't been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Maya, they tried to enter by Cydia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow themselves. So they passed by Maya and went down to tro as during the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him to come over to Macedonia and help us after palazzina vision. We got ready at once to leave for Macedonia concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Now in the planning of the apostle Paul and in the ministry of the apostle Paul, in the first century, I want you to notice a couple of things, some strategic planning a tremendous amount of human effort, but also without question, sensitivity and directions, the Holy Spirit. Do you realize what it says here? It says in verse six, look, again, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word of God in Asia. Now it's an interesting word it means the Kindred is a restraint, actually, the Holy Spirit oppose Paul, no, you're not going to go into Asia, you're not going to go in there. Because you know, not only that, it says this, verse seven, when they came to the border of miser that they tried to enter by Sidious, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them. The other interesting were not permit them, not allow them that let them in. It's the same word in First Corinthians 1013, which says, there's no temptation taking you. But that was just common demand, the God will also will provide a way of escape, we're not allow that to take any more than you're able to bear that same word. So that here you have the Holy Spirit and you have the Spirit of Jesus. And then notice what else, they get a vision in verse nine. And then down in verse 10. After policy in the vision, we got ready at once the lead from Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel. Now, there is so much to say, and I don't want to feel pressure to rush through this message. But I've got to make one point here, which I think is very important. Many people today attack the idea or the concept of the keeping of the Trinity. And they say, the Trinity is not clearly taught in the Bible, show me a verse where the Trinity is taught. And you're gonna find a verse that you throw open and say, See, yes, there is a Trinity, the Father, Son, the Holy Spirit, three and one with an egg illustration underneath it, you're not going to find that anywhere in the Bible. But I want you to see how clearly the Holy Spirit is brought out indirectly here, liquid with me again, verse six, it says, How do you mean kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia, there you have the Holy Spirit. Now we'll give verse seven, when they came to the border of mind who they tried to enter, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them. And then if you would go down to verse 10, it says, After Paul has seen the vision, we got ready at once the Reaper Macedonia concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel there. Now, of all the incredible turning points in the history of the world, I want you to know that something the gospel being stopped from going into Asia. And Paul, being clearly directed by God to go to Europe, has transformed every one of our lives. And here are four little verses, verses six through 10, that you may have looked at many, many times. And you may have thought, Hmm, well, I don't see how that could really apply. I wonder what that could mean, to me, I would say something has totally transformed your life and my life, the history of the world has been shaken and changed more than you'll ever realize, by the fact that the gospel went to Europe first. And in the Western world, therefore has been evangelized did the following the direction of the Holy Spirit is never a trivial thing. I also wonder this, how many Christians are still trying to minister and agents and minds and I don't mean today, but I mean, spiritually speaking, how many times how many churches, they get traditions, they get things set up? This is the way we've always done it. No, we've done this for 42 years and the church is something like that. We've done this for six years to the church. Okay, whatever. Here's my question. How about this? How about today? I don't obviously I'm not expecting vision. And I'm not expecting clear voices from God but I am expecting this Christian peoples know the Word of God and know from a paralyzed and no one understand the direction that God wants us to go so that we can have still have spiritual directors ation, we're still not battling, trying to go into miser agents. How many people you think have done that? How many of you God didn't even want to go but they keep on calling and persevering. Dawn's the ministry. Very interesting, you send the book of Acts, and you see a tremendous dependence upon the Spirit of God to directly lead the church. To say something, we will never make it today. It concerns me, you go to church group seminars you always hear about, here's what you're supposed to hear. Here's phone calls. You never hear about prayer. You never hear about, really making sure that you have the mind of God before you go on and anything. And if that is true, and Churchill's confidence, how much more that true for you people here today, when you make a decision, when you decide you're gonna go someplace and you think you're gonna do things. Listen, we ought to make sure more than any time ever in our lives, that we have the mind of God, and we're going in the direction he wants us to go. Well, look what happened. Now. They finally go to two day journey as they tried to get over there. And by the way, coming back, it's a five day journey for the windlass have been very favorable for them in verses 11 and 12. And then when you get to verse 13, notice 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 were gathered there. One of those listening was a woman named Lydia idealer, in purple cloth from the city of via Tyrell, who was a worshipper of God, the Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. When he and the members of our household were baptized. She invited us to her home, if you consider me a believer in the Lord's he said, Come and stay at my house. And he persuaded us here you have the very first convert, if he from five, Tyra, she had to come from Asia over to Europe. And all in God's already planned she comes. It comes to know the Lord. The first European convert and knows what happens, they go down to the place of prayer. We'll come back and talk a little bit more about that second convert. Now you may say I didn't say she was converted. I think she was a second convert. Anyway, it's my opinion. We've done in verse 16. And when we were going to the place of prayer one day, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future here and a great deal of money for owners by fortune telling. This girl called and the rest of us now called in, and the rest of us shouting, these men are servants of the Most High God who were telling you the way to be saved. He kept this up for many days. Finally, Paul got fed up with it. He turned around and said to the spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her. And at that moment, the spirit laughter but all of a sudden, this causes some more trouble. Look at the way this they all develop. First off, you got them going to the place of prayer, you got a small group of women gathering there, and Paul preaches. And I mean, a significant wealthy woman named Lydia come into those wards. Now, as results go into that place to try on a regular basis. All of a sudden, the more trouble comes. Paul gets so tired of it several days come, that's the Greek word for trouble. Does he just get weary of it? He just he's sick of it. It's like, Finally, that's enough. You know, you've seen a woman with the kids in the house is that was that that that's almost what happened here is exactly the idea of the Greek word Paul is going along. And finally, after several days, he's in trouble them and he's sick about he just you're gonna go that's it. And he kept the demon out of it. Now, what else happens? They just get them a lot of trouble. Because notice the owners verse 19, of the slave girl realize that their hope of making money was gone. They see Paul and Silas, drag them to a marketplace that makes you thority by the way, I looked up every one of these aggressive words in the Greek language. And that's exactly what they are aggressive. Please grasp them, drag them the word there for drag in the middle with the crowd, drag them into grab a bunch of fish by a net and the pull the net with the fish. And here you start to see some violence. And by the way, I want you to see something that wasn't displayed girl that was possessed. They were serving the father, the devil. And there's a tremendous opposition by the devil to try to get rid of any type of influence to Europe. And notice what the how they tried to get rid of them. Firstly tried to make an ally with them. And it didn't distort the message that way. But now he comes along and they see them and they drag them to the verse 20. And they brought them before the magistrates and said these men are Jews and they're throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for the Romans to accept the practice. The Crown joined in the attack. They the idea there is a whole group rose up at once a whole big crowd rises up to one to come after Paul and Silas and others and they ordered them to be stripped and beaten right there no trial to strip them beat them. And after they had been severely flawed, incredible damage done physically to them. They had been severely flooded they were thrown at Bala they were cast it take a guy like this and take a look and throw them into the prison. You get this? It says and it was given to the guard the jailer and he received orders did you put them in a garden very carefully. They were commanded? Do we take them and put them in the intercell and fasten their feet and stuff now I'm going to come back to some of these things. So that's why I'm skipping over some of the quickly listen about midnight is Paul and violets after that type of treatment. Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the other prisoners were listening to them. And suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken at once all the prison doors were open and everybody came came loose and the dealer woke up and we saw the prisoners doors open. The Drew sort of got to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. Paul's got it don't harm yourself. We're all here that you're cold provides rested and filled trembling before Paul and Silas can eat and then brought them out and answers What must I do to be safe now because here's the third person, not only to get not only the prisoner, but now you have the gala. They replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved you and your household. In a spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. In that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds and then immediately he and his family were baptized. 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. When it was daylight, the magistrate sent their officers to the jailer with disorder released those men. And here's the rest of the story. The next morning, by the way, several interesting things to comment on here. What is this? I think personally that this earthquake was localized, I mean, so localized that has happened only at the prison. And the reason I say that is can you imagine an earthquake with two prisoners, it's two prisoners in this big town of Philippi. And all of a sudden all the magistrates everything the next morning after an earthquake, the first thing you're concerned about is ready to prisoners go if there was a devastating earthquake to the entire town, they would have been raked around to try to refigure figure out all the damage reports and getting ready the right for some federal aid when they I mean they would have had all kinds of trouble but here's what happens. I think it was just the angels were board shook that prison in let them loose. It's like you can even see right there don't don't build your spiritual life on this. I can just see. So the angels of heaven walking through this. Remember y'all we already know from some of the Gospels, that they are stooping down and glamping and looking engaging into the salvation and they think what Marvel that God loves sinners is people that have rebelled against Him. And then to think that he really sees them as a choice over the next Angel verse have all been excited in the demons of hell must have been strategized, numerous, but all kinds of warfare going on behind the scenes that we'll never know about as humans, because now the gospel was about to go to Europe, and the significant impact of what that could mean. And all of a sudden I can just see some angel walking over Get our award you're gonna give it a while they've been beaten they've been forced to they are put in stock I'm gonna go back and talk about like I said tell you the details of that in a second but here they are beaten and hurt when the angels working to do something even allows what can be the plan and maybe the word you said okay good take care of this I don't know you guys I'm just theorizing now thank you by the meditation alright and that is this bang down goes Gabriel the whole prison shakes all of a sudden all the prisoners are free you were in stocks and games and being all done Paul's outstanding there I mean you can earthquake the district to Sox was magic. So the tremendous thing happened and the people in the town and here's the other theory if it wasn't town earthquake, then possibly because of this the scariness of the mysticism in the in the type of fear that was in religion in those ages. They thought oh, we treated the guy bad we better get rid of them. That's the reason we had the earthquake. You could also then that I realized but anyway, there you have the founding of the church, Paul says, By the way, why polite here's another thing to baffles me. How come I Paul is getting flogged. He doesn't say Hey, fellas, I'm a Roman citizen. I don't know. But the next day he says, I'm not leaving the jail you brought me here publicly flogged me on a Roman citizen, you come back and let me go, by the way scares me to death. But with this, they came verse 29, they came to appease them and escorted them from the prisoner requesting them to leave the city tonight here we're gonna look bad they were could have been in serious trouble. Because you're you were remember an outpost of urbanism in Europe. Now amazing to spend some time in this chapter to meditate and think about it. There's all kinds of tremendous things that I want to point out to you some some vital points from Acts chapter 16, that will unlock some peace and the book of Philippians. The first one I want you to notice is this. There is joy from God that is greater than our trial. You know the clippings is the book of joy. But they were there could not be a more appropriate introduction to this book of joy than to see tremendous joy. In the life of Paul and Silas, though they were tremendously the mirror what Paul says in the book of Philippians, don't turn the air because I don't want you to for the sake of time, but I want you to see something from the book of Philippians that, that Paul mentions, he says in chapter four, listen, I Rejoice greatly in the ward, that at last you have renewed your concerns me indeed you have been concerned but now you know off but you have no opportunity to show it to get this. I am not saying this because I am a need for I've learned to be content, whatever the circumstances, I know what it is to be in need. And I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living well, or in plenty or in want, I can do everything through him to give me grace Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say rejoice, same chapter. There's a tremendous point here about this. God gives us joy that is greater than our trouble. Even though the crowd sees Paul that is the way to hold of intensively. And they dragged him to drag as you drag a bunch of fish up on the shore with a net. And even though they were right about in verse 20, they said all these guys are teaching customs that are unlawful for us as Romans to bear. And then look at verse 22. They were attacked, they were stripped. They were beaten that as the beaten with a router, a stick. And then look at verse 23. They were severely flawed. On top of that the Greek actually says this many and rain on them stripes many over and over stripes upon stripes. And you've heard the story before as we've talked about our Lord that it was, it was not uncommon for them to be so humiliated and so beaten that you could actually see their organs walking through the back of the ribcage. It was a tremendous beating these this these Roman jailers by the way, were not known for being full of the milk of human kindness. They were they were men that had been Centurions their whole life, they were rough tugging meanness, you realize the unbelievable gifts. Besides all the physical beating the cruelty, they take them into the innermost part of the prison to throw them in the stock. By the way, the way those stocks were set up, a stock was made, those stocks were made. So there were several holes that that all sizes, and they would take their legs and put them in position so that they would be almost like off balance that you can have never been able to get comfortable. It's not like you can just lay back on your feet in stock. It's sort of sleep. It was a little positions where if you were sleeping, you're always pulling muscles to one side or the other. Your legs would be cramping. They would spread your legs well like this or they put them way up like this, like you're doing this let's they could do all kinds of things. It was a tremendous like forgiveness, no human compassion. The jailer sees all of that and he then they're sleeping. He didn't care. He had one responsibility. Nobody escaped from my prison by the way earlier and actually the 14 chapters from people escaping the the dealers of kill at this booth. If you're wondering why he got his sword out so quickly to kill themselves. Because he knew it was over for him and he figured hey, he didn't have a biblical view of life at that moment. There's like a better multiple take care but myself so they were in stock they were beaten no human compassion every imagine of discomfort possible. And I want you to notice what they do and I noticed you he's known as all your life if you've been to church at all, but we're gonna be in verse 25. About midnight after all of that has taken place about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the other prisoners were listening. Now, here's what I love to tell you listen to the friends listen. The Greek word for prayer there absolutely has no suggestion of petitions they weren't there doing this. However they were in the stocks and bonds and it was a bloody beaten back and beat around a drag the way they had been they weren't there going oh god, why did this happen? That could you believe the levers Oh, God. Get those guys weren't getting that one guy did hit me Why was out after it was supposed to be over, you know, that we'll do you know, all those guys, all that kind of thing. You know what they're doing. It's the word for adoration. And worship is the word for being face to face with God and adoring and worshiping God, my friends. But we talked about progress. And when I tried to encourage you on in the Christian life, when I tried to say Come on, you've got to learn about prayer. You've got to learn about studying the Word, you've got to learn about our life with God, I want to say something, there are levels of depth in the Christian life that we haven't begun to take. And that is this. The joy of the Lord in the ministry of the Holy Spirit can be so real and so vital in our lives, that after the everything physically, humanly speaking, there should not be any reason for these men are full of praise and adoration to God. I say it's, Paul was lucky that I wasn't his partner that day. Because I made a bit full of groanings and cursing. Can you see it? I can just hear from people from our church, for myself included. Why? How could you let this happen? I've always your service, by the way, one of the health wealth and prosperity gospel that doesn't fit in either what Senate they committed for this to happen. But here they are praising God and he gets what the Greek word says not only were they praying, but they were healing. They were healing that. They were exercises of spiritual joy singing him. And by the way, in case you're wondering, the Greek word liquid, it says in the prisons, we're listening, there's all different types of way to talk about listening in the Greek this one is the strongest possible those prisoners were doing like EF Hutton, they're all doing one of these, you know, what are those guys doing? Who are these guys, though, they were in the center of the prison, the stinkiest, rotten, filthiest dirtiest rest air of any place in the prison right there in the center, and everybody could hear them. And there they were praising God and singing him. And I absolutely sounds crazy. And all those prisoners are doing this. You see, my friends, with the joy of the Lord, they were perfectly contented by the deal. One of the things I pray, Lord as we go through Philippians you know, our church changes constantly. We're not the same church we were a year ago. Not only more people, but different changes in situations in people's lives. We got people, our church dying of cancer, we got people in our church suffering in many different ways. We didn't have that a year ago. But of all the different things changing the ebb and flow of your life. When we go through Philippians for the next six, eight months, I want to tell you one of the goals I have for you, I want to set the goal that we would come to know the joy of the Lord, we would come to know God in such a way that whether the circumstances are good or whether we're bad, whether we're rich, whether we're poor, whether we're healthy, whether we're weak, that we would come to say, I can rejoice in the Lord always. I can know that I can trust my God fully. You think anyone can sing when the doors are open and he has said free but the Christian Thrall is filled with joy and can sing anywhere at any time. If he reads Second Timothy, Paul knows he's about to get it. He knows he's about to get it. He talks about the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus. He talks about I'm about to die, but there's a great reward I'm about to get to Chilean church father said this, the legs still nothing in the stalks when the heart is in heaven. You know, if you study the life of Joseph, he was imprisoned and beaten. And we talked about that. Listen, the testament of Joseph guess what it says? Joseph after being discouraged and thrown into the prison Egypt was heard giving thanks to the Lord and singing praises in the abode of darkness and rejoicing with God's voice and glorifying God. Just as another example, they are what could come my way and so many people live with this constant sense of fear in our hearts. My friends were made to live with joy regardless of the circumstances. You notice that Paul always considered himself a prisoner of Jesus Christ. Even he did look at themselves as a prisoner of Rome. He looked at himself as a prisoner of Jesus Christ. When these difficulties and circumstances come your way like friends look at Christ look at yourself saying listen, my God has brought me here. All the way my senior leads me that's why we sang that song this morning. What are the ILC ask you guys can I doubt I'm ruining the song, but can I do out in tender mercy or however that goes, you guys know he to life has been my God, God's never going to leave us or forsake us. Look at this. What a great song. What a great poem Madame Guyon though Have you heard of Madame Guyon great, godly woman of the past was this. She was in prison for 10 year in French prison from 1695 to 1705. Here's a song she wrote in prison can hear, look at a little bird I am shut from the fields of air and in my cage I sit and sing to him and place me there. Well please the prisoner to be because my god pleases the not else not not have i else to do I sing the whole day long and he who most I rubbed the please just listen to my song, he caught and bound my wandering wing, but still he begins to hear me sing, they'll have an ear, to hear a heart to love and bless and know my notes were air so rude that was not here the West, because they'll know us as they fall, that same sweet love inspires them all. By cage can find me round abroad, I cannot fly. But though my wing is closely bound my heart that liberty, my prison walls cannot control the flight for freedom of my soul. Oh, it is good to Thor, the bolts and bars above. To him his purpose I adore his providence by law, and in a mighty will to find the joy, the freedom of the mind. We have got people constantly barred in prison because they're constantly a victim of their past. They're constantly looking and putting themselves back in prison I pray and that we would come to know the joy of the Lord being our strength we would come to know of, of the tremendous joy of knowing God. Another thing I want you to see another key. Another key point of Philippians is this is that of unity. Unity if you study you'll see pulses I want to have this mind which was in Christ Jesus. I beseech the two women Liddy and Cynthia get along with one another stop fighting. And there's this idea of unity. And I want you to say something. The Bible teaches unity in the midst of diversity, I want you to consider the first three Converse leaps because it was really, here's the first convert Lydia, an extremely wealthy, successful businesswoman, as the first convert. Now here's the next one. demon possessed girl that has probably been raped and abused. That's all she'd known her whole life a poor nothing of a girl. There she is. Converted, transformed by the power of Christ. And then you've got and by the way, Lydian offers servants lady's husband either died or she never married. There's some speculation that totally got married. By the way. That's what I consider it near speculation. Anyway, there's Lydia, here's this lady. And then over here, you've got this Roman soldier and I just love this guy. Here's his Roman soldier, you know, tells me I want you to think it's on the Guess who their pastor was. The first pastor was Dr. Luke. Yes, I think he was. Okay. And the reason I think that is, let me show you real quick what I think that was the chapters, the first seven, it says this, up to x 16. When they came to the border of Maya, they tried to enter. All right, but then diverse 10% After policy and division we got ready wants to leave for Macedonia can claim that God called us to preach the gospel. By the way, if we're not all the way through until you get to the odd part of chapter 16. And then it's day again it is verse 17, is day that leave again. And the point is, Luke was left behind the syllabi. So now you've got a medical doctor, a Roman centurion, retired soldier, who's a jailer and his family, this little slave girl and Lydia. And by the way, I want you to just picture the first church service. They were on Sunday, we didn't Linnaeus out, by the way, we know they made a lady's house. If you look at verse 40, this is they went back to the US House. Earlier on it says he pleaded upon a believer come and stay with us. And that sort of became the center. Just like all the churches I met in people's houses. And here they were completely just now you would think this how in the world how in the world could God Okay, the rich businesswoman? Yeah, we can understand why he's converted. But then what would she possibly have in common with this little slave girl? And how is she gonna get along with his Roman Centurion soldier? The tough rocker, I would say so it doesn't matter the various and sundry differences of the past. It can't it all fades away, because there's one love and one joy in their heart. Now you know, it is Jesus Christ. And you see, my friends, though they are totally diverse and personalities diverse in in their backgrounds. Imagine them getting together and seeing the applying the Word of God, the after church fellowship, all those things. And I'll tell you something God never intended for us to look at and want, then go and do all the same things and act and be all the same. You didn't want to call the crosser iron daughter t there is supposed to be diversity. We're supposed to be different a church, it's all the same, and everybody's got to conform and look alike and act alike and go to White will be everything. Like I tell you something. That's a boring church as a church that cannot be effective in evangelism. Here you got a diverse and different group of people coming together to make up at your desk while your friends listen, because someone doesn't agree with you, or because someone sees things from a little different perspective than you are good. The key is this. We have a passionate love for Christ that we build I've been bounced around Jesus Christ, we love him unity in the midst of that diversity. Now, something else I got to point out and I tell you I am tremendously under the pressure right now of this time restraints. Okay, I pushed to get the service started early and we did it somehow it always turns out this way, I'm feeling this. So hang on your feet. Let me worry about that. Okay. Well, listen. Second thing, another thing under this point of unity in the midst of adversity that I want you to see the importance of gathering together with believers. If you read Philippians when you want to do it this to the deacons of overseers at Philippi. Another thing you see is this, look at Acts chapter 16, verse 50, what it says, right after the Lord opens Lydia's heart in other ways, it's very interesting. The word there for open, there's different ways to open you can open the door like this, but it's a blow the heart open, it did blow the door open, way wide open, we're open to her. And all of a sudden, here's who are the worshipper of God, probably there. By the way inside tyre, where she was from, there was a Jewish synagogue. There wasn't one in Philippi, because there wasn't 10 men that were Jewish. That's what he meant by the river, to pray by a river. And that was sort of a customary thing. If there wasn't a synagogue, you'd go meet by somebody of water and pray and worship. And the Lord is here she was worshiping the God of Israel and all sudden boom, your heart is open up, as you realize is that Christ is the Messiah, and he's a senator to meet them. But anyway, notice her automatic desire could burst your teeth 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 the first thing he wants is he wants fellowship with the apostle, Come be with me, Paul, Luke, Timothy, Silas, you guys come out and be with me? Please say my house. Notice also, if you would, chapter 16, verse 33, after the dealer gets seen what happens right after the dealer just stayed at that hour of the night, the jailer took them and wash their wounds that immediately he and his family were baptized, that verse 34, the jailer brought them into his house instead of meal before them, he was still with joy, because he had come to believe in God and his whole family. The first thing the jailer does is from being the guy that can sleep when people were suffering, to say, Listen, even before he is baptized, the dealer gets these people and he washes them. He says, Let me take care of you. Then he sets a meal before the cleaning fee. The whole idea is this fellowshipping together. And notice all by the way, you get back to verse 40 Min says we call it silence came out of the prison, they went to Lydia's house where they met with the brothers and encourage them there they are gathering together again. There's the word Pyrrhic Leo to come alongside and to give comfort and encouragement to one another. They come along and they give comfort. One thing I want you to see is this. There's automatic desire to be with God's people when you're truly converted. There's a desire to hear preaching, there's a desire to sing songs is a desire to be with God's people who want to fellowship with them, because you want to the psalmist says, I love those that love you. And those that fear thy word are my companion. The psalmist says, even though you may think this is some legalistic statement, I'm telling you it's the truth. Why do you think it's legalistic or not? One of the first signs of somebody backsliding, they started getting out of church. Why is that there's just a desire not to be with God's people get away from it. But there's a long David I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house and my God, that is one of the tents of wickedness, oh, my soul saved for the course of I got he wants to be with God's people worshiping, there's this whole principle, you tell me that it's not important to gather when the even they traveled for 40 years in the wilderness, the thing that led them was this was their meeting place, their tabernacle, it's important for Christians to be together, it's important to worship. And I say it many times, it's easy to see on the fringes of a church. It just sort of be the kind that you come and just sort of sit there and you're listening and say hi to a couple little people in the elite involved. This is what you need to be in the church. I'm not saying that you okay? I may be saying that because I'm prejudiced. I want you to evolve in this church. I no doubt there's some prejudice in my heart, because I want you to evolve in this church. But it's also all over the whole Bible that we're supposed to be involved in one another's life. If you don't believe me, do a study of the one another. Do a study of the relationship you're supposed to have to an older relationship you're supposed to have with Deacon, see the importance of of people in the ministry of the gifts of the spirits with one another, by the way, that's a big theme. I flip Pearson and I'm just running out of coffee and father. Great. So Lafley sort of out. There's so many good things here. I'll tell you turn the clock back and go turn the clock back. 10 minutes, no sunset now still because they was jasha. Well, I'll use the ones that tie clearly in to community and help us get set up for community. The nature of true conversion, not only a desire to be with God's people, as we've just seen, but a compassion and a love for others. I told you the jailer had been sleeping hard, no compassion, and now he has a deep concern to help. Nelson once you notice this, the joy of being reconciled to God. Look at verse 34. There's a tremendous joy that came into his life because now he was right with God all was life for years he was suddenly retired me and for years he had fought battles. He'd been on the cutting edge of the leading power of the world. Here he was seeing all the victories. Oh, thanks. There was an emptiness in his heart. He was not a whole man. Suddenly, he now is reconciled to the God that made him and there's a tremendous overflowing joy. The Psalmist talks about this how breath is amazing sins are forgiven. There's also tremendous purpose in life. He turns from a fatalism to a desire. In other words, he's going to kill themselves to a reading of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's also a power to change a life with God, a life over demons, a whole new outlook on life. Is the deacons come forward, come on, and forward deacons was either gonna help with communion only say this to you. Jonathan knows something about evangelism. And please listen to this about evangelism. Did you notice that the first person that was evangelized was Lily and how was that Paul purposely went to a place if you notice what the NIV says it says we were expecting please listen to me. It says this. We were expecting to find some people there. He went to the river and he expected to find Lydia and some people there. Maybe he didn't know her name, but he expected to find some people there. And he found him Did you also notice another wave of animism, he was just walking along on the way to the place of prayer in the spirit. Still girls, um, it's a spiritual demonically filled girl search is crying out. And there's all kinds of insights to say about that. And then, you know, it's also with the jailer, there he is in prison couldn't help that he just his natural witnesses witness while suffering. And then at Yalta, notice that you have the right word at the right time for the jailer. So you see there's all different types of evangelism. That is purposeful evangelism, evangelism, the results out of daily activities, evangelism, the results out of people watching you suffer, and evangelism, they come through having the right word at the right time. Don't try to you can't put it into a mold. This is the only way to do it. There's all different ways for evangelism. Well now because I'm rushing, because I pushed it because I've made us late now for the rest of the day, I want you to take to remember something, the first church would be to get together regularly and to break bread together. That is if we are to remember on a regular basis, that our salvation is based upon the broken body in the shed blood of Lord Jesus Christ. If you're here today, and there has never been a place in your life, where you have come to see yourself as a rotten, vile, filthy Center, where you said, God be merciful to me, a sinner or something like that. You come to the place where you said, Oh God, I can't save myself. There's nothing good within me. And it's not my family, my background, I'm lost without you. I need Christ. If you haven't come to that place your life you'll never appreciate communion. This isn't for you. Communion has to be a remembrance. It even though we may do it in more of a hurry fashion than we normally do here this morning. I want to tell you somebody please please do not become religious at this moment. If you've ever not been religious, don't be religious now because religion is not what this is about.