Unstoppable ChurchSample

Acts 16:13-40 NKJV – Paul Establishes a Small Community of Believers in Philippi:

God Can Use Anyone!

Some people get chosen first on the playground to be on the kickball team. Some people get chosen last (No, we will not put you on the spot and ask you to circle the word “first” or “last” in a survey question that best describes your story!). On many occasions, this selection process is based simply upon people making unfair judgment calls on the skills of a person without ever seeing them play. They look at the stature, assumed strength, and demeanor of a person and are hasty to make a judgment call on their abilities. We have seen this in the Old Testament in the selection of David (1Samuel 16:7), and we also see a New Testament example when we look at the people who would compose the charter membership of the church of Philippi. But what seemed like a hodgepodge group of individuals turned out to be a spiritually strong, vibrant church that stands to this day as an example of a unified body of believers from which we should draw inspiration.

Paul, who was joined by Silas at this time, would not have been surprised that there was no synagogue in Philippi (Acts 16:13), as Philippi was considered a Roman Colony (Acts 16:12). He met a woman who traveled much to sell her very expensive product of purple-dyed cloth. Whether she was a permanent citizen of Philippi or taking temporary residence there until she exhausted her connections to the wealthy citizens, one does not know. But God providentially had Lydia and her household in Philippi at that moment for her to become the first recorded female convert in Macedonia (Acts 16:13-15).

Paul and Silas continued preaching the Gospel even as a local demon-possessed woman continually followed them (Acts 16:18a) shouting words meant to be sarcastic, as if mere men can come into a town and declare they know the way to God, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation” (Acts 16:17b NKJV)! Paul was “greatly annoyed” and cast the demon out of her in the power of the name of Jesus

Upon seeing this, the citizens dragged Paul and Silas to the city leaders and made the claim that the message and the disturbance caused by Paul and Silas constituted illegal actions against Roman law. As a result, they both were bound and beaten before being thrust into prison (Acts 16:19-24). The only problem was that their actions did not constitute a violation of Roman law. And in disciplining Paul and Silas by publicly beating them, the rulers of Philippi actually broke a Roman law that prohibited any Roman citizen from being publicly beaten (Acts 16:37).

Until this realization was made known to the Philippian leaders, Paul and Silas remained in prison and chose to openly pray and sing hymns to the Lord so loudly that people could hear them (Acts 16:25). The Lord miraculously caused an earthquake to occur while simultaneously opening the prison doors and causing their chains to fall off. Through these circumstances, after hearing Paul and Silas sing praises all night, and after asking the simplest, clearest question, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:25-31 NKJV), the Philippian jailer believed the Gospel message. After this, his family followed suit and also accepted Christ (Acts 16:32-34).

The next morning, the leaders of the city told the jailer that Paul and Silas might be released from jail (Acts 16:36). Paul knew that the law was on their side, so he informed the jailer to tell the city leaders that they had broken the law by beating them publicly. They were both Roman citizens, and it was illegal to beat Roman citizens (Acts 16:37). The city leaders, fearful that they broke the law, came personally to ask them to leave, per Paul’s request (Acts 16:37-39). So, they left rejoicing that God brought about more salvations from this situation and that the law protected them from future illegal actions against them (Acts 16:40a). Then they left Philippi (Acts 16:40b).

After the dust had settled on all this excitement, Paul and Silas left the city and left behind a scant group of brand-new Christians to carry on the Gospel ministry through their witness and testimonies. The church of Philippi began with a Philippian jailer and his household, a traveling merchant (Lydia) and her household. And while it's probable that others accepted Christ, we have no idea who, if any, came to Christ because no additional people are recorded as having accepted Christ in this account.

That’s it! That is the scant, unimpressive team God left to develop and grow a church in Philippi. Who would give this team strong odds of being successful? Who would believe this group could become a winning team? What church planting organization would want to launch a brand-new church plant effort with a couple of families full of baby-Christians and another family full of brand-new Christians who may not be in the city too long? If viewed through human eyes, these are fair questions. But when God Himself is the builder of His Church (Matthew 16:18), He can take the most unlikely group of devoted believers and, through them, produce supernatural accomplishments (Ephesians 3:20)!

How did they do? Paul actually wrote this church 10 years after the founding of the church in Acts 16. Read Philippians 1:1 to see if the church grew and established spiritual leaders! Were they even strong enough to assist other churches? Read Philippians 4:15, II Corinthians 8:1-5, and 11:9 to see if they were known for helping other churches in need! Did the Lord bless them for their faithful and mature service to the Lord and His people? Read Philippians 4:19 to find out!

God can use anyone! Never count any person out. Fight the temptation to dismiss the impact that any believer can have upon the Body of Christ. The whole of Scripture testifies that little is much if it is being controlled by the power of God (I Corinthians 1:27; Zechariah 4:6; John 6:9, 11; Psalm 20:7). The church established at Philippi is a vivid example of this beautiful reality.

Ponder & Pray Today…

Reflect upon these many spiritual blessings: How God has saved you, indwelt you with the Holy Spirit, provided you with the privilege of sharing the life-changing truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, given you the ability to witness God change a life eternally, and invited you to serve Him and encourage other believers to do the same. God can use you beyond what you ever imagined (Ephesians 3:20)!

Pray a simple yet profound prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord. Thank you for providing all of these spiritual blessings as a child of God. Tell Him that you intend to take full advantage of all these spiritual blessings while you are here on earth.