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Page 6...The Portland Observer...October 2,1991
• Portland Observer
Scripture o f the ‘l/Ceef^
RELIGION
Luke 22:64
Mission to Philippi, Part I
Pastor W endell W allace
BY MICHAEL LINDSEY
Dean of North Portland Bible College
personally invite s you to be his special guest at
MARANATHA CHURCH
The text fo r the Sunday School
lesson (International Series) fo r next
Sunday is A cts 16:9-12, 16-23. We
encourge you to read all the Bible ref
erences as you follow through this ar
ticle, and also encourage you to attend
the Sunday School class at your church
New W o rs h ip S e rv ic e
this week.
In the history of Paul’s missionary
journeys, Luke (the author o f Acts)
usually does not fill in a lot o f details
about events related to a specific city.
But in Acts 16 we can read a lengthy
account o f the foundation o f a great
church, one which was very special in
the heart o f the great Apostle. The
Sunday School lessons for this week
and next will examine the success of
Paul’s ministry in Philippi, the firstcity
in Europe in which he preached the
Come expecting worship services, with contemporary music, practical
preaching from the Bible, and sharing from personal experiences
Service times are:
%
Early Sunday Morning Worship at 8:00 AM (New)
Sunday School at 9:30 AM
Regular Sunday Morning Service at 10:45 AM
Sunday Evening Service at 6:00 PM
Wednesday Evening Service at 7:00 PM
Sunday, "Maranatha Live": KPDQ 93.7 FM at 11:00 PM
Sunday, September 8, 1991 at 8:00 AM & 10:45 AM
"HOW TO HANDLE LIFE'S DEEPEST HURTS &
TOUGHEST PROBLEMS"
gospel.
Philippi was a fa- cry from the
cities of Phrygian G alatia and Barna
bas had preached and established
churches on P aul’s “ first missionary
journey” (A cts 13-14). Those cities
were mountain tow ns or cities, less
cosmopolitan and sophisticated than
the cities of the Aegean sea.
The “ boundary” between Europe
and Asia was invented later by Euro
pean geographers, and it is really artifi
cially determ ined. N evertheless, the
establishm ent of a church in Philippi
was important to Paul’s missionary
stratey. It was the first o f a long series
of important churches in the heartland
of Greek culture and Greek idolatry; it
was the beachhead from which the gospel
penetrated larger cities, like Thessa-
lonica, Athens, Corinth, and Ephesus.
These cities surround the Aegean Sea,
and many sm aller cities were also
reached and evangelized from these
Sunday, September 8, 1991 at 6:00 PM
"RESTORING PURPOSE IN OUR GENERATION'
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Wednesday, September
11,1991 at 7:00 PM
"MARANATHA'S VISION'
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planned to go to the province of
M acedonia first. He and his mission
team apparently wanted to go to the
province of Asia (16:6), which included
the great city Ephesus, but they were
“ forbidden o f the Holy G host” to go
into that area. N ext they looked at the
province o f Bithynia (16:7), “ but the
Spirit suffered them not.” By human
standards, either o f these w ould have
been a wise choice. Both these prov
inces were located in the area we now
call Turkey, both had significant cities,
and both were virtually unreached by
the gospel.
Thankfully, Paul’s team were very
sensitive to the prom ptings o f the Holy
Spirit, and so they bypassed these ar
eas, and w ent on to Troas, on the sea
coast. We aren ’t told how they re
ceived the Spirit’s instructions, but it
was clear enough for the tim e being. As
Dowson Trotm an once said, “ When
you can’t see where the L ord is leading
you, go as far as you can see.” In
Troas, Paul him self received a vision
leading him to cross the edge of the
Aegean into Macedonia (16:9-10). After
this, there were no more visions direct
ing each step, until the Lord told him to
stay in Corinth for a longer period
(18:9-11).
We also need to be ready to move
as the Spirit o f God directs us. But in
the absence of extraordinary means,
the Lord has given us sound minds to
use-in d eed , “ we have the mind of
C hirsl” (1 Cor 2:16). We can make the
right decisions, as we arc humbly sub
ject to “ mid- course corrections” by
the S pirit
Our lesson includes the amazing
story of the slave girl in Philippi. “ A
certain damsel possessed with a spirit
o f divination” (Acts 16:16) began fol
lowing the Christian missionaries around
the streets of Philippi. In the original
language, this spirit is simply called a
python, an inspired representative of
the Greek god Apollo, w ho was popu-
bases.
Paul may have had some of this
plan already figured out, but he had not
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Prayer for healing every Service
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larly thought to be em bodied in a snake
at the famous oracle of Delphi. Plu
tarch referred to the people who were
possessed by such spirits as ventrilo
quists,” that is, the people spoke and
acted as “ dum m ys” for the unseen
spirit within. Christians realized the
awful reality o f such possession (Luke
8:29; 9:38-40); and Paul taught plainly
that idol worship was closely connected
to the demonic powers (1 C or 10:20-
21).
This girl was enslaved and expo-
litcd by a group o f men, her “ masters
or “ lords,” w ho saw her possession as
a business opportunity. These unscru
pulous men would sell lime with her to
people in the city who were impressed
with her affliction, and thought that the
pow er within her could help them tell
the future, or give them advantages
over other people.
She cried out that Paul and his
team were “ servants ol the Most High
G od,” and seemed to be testifying to
the truth of their message (Acts 16:17).
But G od’s people, like the Lord Jesus
before, did not want any kind of en«
dorsem ent from the forces of darkness
(Luke 4:34,41). On the other hand,
Paul was grieved not so much by the
girl’s persistent cries, as by the pitiful
state the child was in. And so he turned
and ordered the spirit out o f her, “ in the
name of Jesus C hrist.” The deliver
ance was vitrually immediate.
G od’s people today can learn valu
able lessons from this incident. (1) The
more actively we preach the good news
o f Christ, and witness in our daily lives,
the more Santanic opposition we will
see. W e shouldn’t fear it, but we can
expect it. (2) W e must relize that many
people involved in sinful lifestyles are
actually victims them selves-victim s of
the greed o f other, stronger people, as
well as the demonic realm. We need to
dem onstrate G od’s mercry, love, and
p o w e r(a s He directs) to free them from
slavery.
JUBILEE CHOIR
T H E
O L I V E T B A P T I S T CHURCH
STONETOW ER CHURCH
N . E 3 0 T H & S A N D Y B L V D See Page 4
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(comer of 8th & Skidmore)
(503) 287-0261
Phillip S. Nelson Pastor
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C hurch
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NE M A L L O R Y
Bible Study
9:30 am.
Morning Worship
10:45 am.
Men’s Training Leadership
Women’s Bible Class
5:00 pm.
Evening Worship
M inister Gregory Fobbs
6:00 pm.
Attended nursery for all
services
Wednesday prayer meeting
and bible study
7:30 pm.
288-1092
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RESTORING
NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY
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