Title Evangelism in Philippi (Acts 16:11-40)
Contents
Evangelism in Philippi (Acts 16:11-40)
Paul followed the guidance of God and crossed over to Europe with the Gospel. The first city in Europe where Paul went was Philippi. The Bible records Paul's evangelism work in Philippi in 16:11-40. What we see with interest in the evangelism of God is that God brought the gospel to two families. ① Lydia's family and ② the jailer's family in Philippi. We want to share.
1. The background of meeting the two families is the place of prayer.
The background of Paul's meeting with Lydia is in verse 13, "We went to see if we had a place to pray on the sabbath," and he met Lydia. And the reason Paul met the jailer in Philippi is because he went to prison. In verse 16, we see the reason why we went, “While we were going to the place of prayer,” he met a slave girl possessed by a fortune-telling spirit, and eventually went to prison and met the jailer of the Philippian prison.
Paul met two families in Philippi, and it teaches us a lot that the direct motive is a place of prayer. God's work begins at the place of prayer. The work of God begins at the place of prayer. Going to the place of prayer Where miracles begin.
2. Lydia's family became evangelistic smoothly
In verse 14, Lydia is introduced as “a longevity in the city of Thyatira”. While looking for a place to pray, Paul met Lydia and preached the gospel. The evangelism became very easy. In addition, in verse 15, it is recorded, “I and his household were baptized.” It's a good start. Lydia also urges Paul in verse 15, "Come into my house and stay."
When Paul went to Philippi, the first city in Europe, beyond Asia, he must have had various human fears and worries. But he was thankful that God led him to Lydia's house smoothly.
3. The jailer's family who came to evangelize after going through many difficulties
In 16:34 it is written, "He took them up to his house and prepared food for them, and they rejoiced greatly, because he and the whole house believed in God." However, there were many twists and turns before Paul and the jailer in Philippi met.
As Paul was going to a place of prayer, he met a servant girl possessed by a demon. This servant used the power of a demon to make money for the master. The master was not interested in the death of the servant's soul by the power of a demon. He was interested in earning. But Paul's soul was more important than money. So he cast out demons from the slave girl who was a slave to a demon so that she could no longer become a fortune teller. .Paul saved souls from the dead, and after being beaten many times, they were thrown into a deep prison. However, Paul and Silas got up in the middle of the night and instead prayed and praised God. When the jailer saw this, he tried to commit suicide, but he received Paul's evangelism. We believe that Paul and the Philippian jailer met by God's providence, not by chance.
4. God guides those who will be saved in a mysterious way.
It is also a mysterious thing that Paul met a woman from the region of Thyatira far away from Philippi. It is also truly mysterious that God made Paul meet a prison guard and evangelize. In this way, God He seeks and saves those who believe.
Even when we evangelize, there are families where evangelism goes smoothly like Lydia's family, and there are families where evangelism sometimes goes through many difficulties, like the jailer's family in Philippi. The words characteristically mentioned while writing about Lydia in the Bible are The point is that she is "a woman who opened the door of her heart." However, in contrast, being a prison guard is a profession that cannot open the door. As we evangelize, we meet many different people. However, as we get to know The thing is that God's chosen family must eventually return to the Lord. Therefore, we must not give up because our evangelism is difficult. These two families that Paul met in Philippi became the foundation of the Philippian church. His providence is truly a mystery.
Psalm 107:8 says, "Praise be to the LORD for his kindness and for his marvelous works he has done to men."