Okay, get that back on now that it's clipped in place. If we could open to Acts chapter 16.
Will be continuing there tonight.
And I'll just go ahead and read. The first The first 18 verses, that's what I'm hoping to cover tonight.
We've already talked about some of it but we can we can have it as by way of review So starting in verse one of chapter 16.
Paul came also to Derby and to Listra. A disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who is a believer, but his father was a Greek.
He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lestra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places.
For they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem.
So the churches were strengthened in the faith and they increased in numbers daily. And they went through the region of Frigia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit.
To speak the word in Asia. And when they'd come up to my Mizia, They attempted to go into Bethenia, but the spirit of Jesus did not allow them.
So passing by Mizia, they went down to Troas, and a vision appeared to Paul in the night.
A man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us.
And would one Paul had seen the vision immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
So setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace and the following day to Neapolis and from there to Philippe which is a leading city in the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony.
We remained in this city some days. And on the Sabbath 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 worshipper 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 joined
To be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay. And she prevailed upon us.
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
By fortune.
She followed Paul and us
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 great
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.
Let's look to the Lord again in prayer.
Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the truth that we can learn from it.
And as we open up this chapter tonight and. Consider these actions of your your servants as they enter into a new territory.
We pray that we would understand what they are doing, understand why they
And father, we pray that we would be able to to learn from that more about you. More about the spread of the gospel through the world.
And to consider what we are selves may do as we spread the gospel in new territories that we go through.
In Christ's name we pray.
So I was reading from the
You
A couple of things that I will quibble with in the ESVs translation. But there was no translation that.
I wasn't going to quibble with so I stuck with my normal one and also The one that I have a large print copy of because it makes it a whole lot easier to see way down there.
But So our context again, just as a sort of refresher. Is that Paul and Silas have left Antioch and they went up into modern-day Turkey.
Through the territories of Cilicia and Galatia. I think probably, well, certainly on this trip.
Southern Galatia. I think that's all that they got into while they were in Galatia on this trip.
And then they think, I know, we'll move on into Asia. And when they say Asia, they don't mean all of what we're calling Asia.
They mean a much smaller. Roman province called Asia that was on the Turkish coast and it's where, well, it's where the 7 churches of Asia.
Would be located right there in that part of western Turkey. And they think, well, we'll go there.
That'll be our next. Our next destination. I have a suspicion that Ephesus was high on the list because it's a major city, it's a major.
Point of interaction is somewhere that you know all of the ancient world is going to be passing through. So it would be a great strategic point.
However, they're forbidden by the Holy Spirit to go to Asia. And so their next idea then seems to have been, OK, we'll go to Bethenia, which is up sort of on the northern coast of Turkey.
And we read that they were forbidden by the spirit of Jesus. Which then sort of funnels them, right?
They've been blocked on their left flank and blocked on their right flank and blocked on their right flank.
So they just Continue on through the region of Mizia. And they end up at the city of Troas.
So there's one thing that we didn't talk about last week. And that I think is worth bringing up because it's, I think it's important.
When they're forbidden to go to Asia. It's, it says that they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit.
In the next verse. It's a which is verse. 7. And the very next verse as they're considering a trip.
Through Bithenia, the spirit of Jesus did not allow them.
Is there a difference? Between the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus and If so, what's the difference?
And if not, Why? Why have the 2 terms here? Why have, why make a verbal distinction?
So what are we going to do with this? It just strikes me as strange.
Anybody want to volunteer a
And interpretation.
Or a possibility. It doesn't have to be a can be a possibility for discussion.
Really? Okay, I didn't realize, I'm sorry, I
Okay, all right, so it's a sort of a marginal. Marginal, okay.
I, and look. So to do a little bit of textual criticism, which I wasn't intending to do tonight, I'll explain.
Why people would opt. For the spirit of Jesus or one of the reasons when scholars are trying to decide which is the better reading of the text.
One of the ways they do that is that If one is really easy to explain how it would have gotten changed that way, either to a really common phrase that all Christians just know this phrase, you know how they are when When somebody starts to say it, you know how it finishes.
If there's, if there's something that's phrased different. And then in some manuscripts.
It got, it's phrase that really, really common way. Then there's a tendency to say, well, they wouldn't have changed a really familiar thing.
To something different, but they might have changed something unusual. To the more common. And so in this case, the people who are arguing in favor of spirit of Jesus are probably saying, well, that's a weird phrase.
I mean, how often do you see that? Right? That's not something that that you encounter very often and so they could more easily explain why they would have just put spirit.
I, I didn't, I didn't notice that there was a difference at this point, so I didn't look into the specifics.
Of the texts. But I would say if Spirit of Jesus is the original and Luke is Sort of throwing both of these at us in.
You know, one right after the other. I think the reason that he's doing that is to sort of draw these 2 points together.
There's already an understanding. Maybe not a real solid understanding with most Christians, but at the time that Luke's writing, there's a Pretty good understanding that Jesus, the Son is, is different from God the Father.
They're both God. They're sort of getting this. You know, really, Really simple understanding of Trinitarianism.
In their head, but they don't, most Christians, even today it's a really complicated So really complicated point, and so most questions at this point.
Don't have a really solid understanding of that. And I think what Luke is doing here. Is bringing these 2 in, one right after the other in parallel and saying, Holy Spirit, verse 6, Spirit of Jesus verse 7.
And these are. He's putting them in parallel because he's referring to the same spirit. But he's emphasizing that The Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, who you're kind of sort of familiar with, It's not Jesus.
That spirit is the same spirit as the spirit of Jesus. And I think Luke is. Trying to pull these together and kind of a trinitarian way.
To to bring that out. So that so that people have one more. Point that they can think of, think about and say the Holy Spirit is also the spirit of Jesus.
They're not They're not different. There aren't 4. But there aren't just 2 either.
It's not like Jesus was God's spirit. There's the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
So I think he's doing that in order to sort of propel that understanding along some.
Now we get more into, we talked a little bit about that. Those verses last week, now we're getting more into starting in verse 9.
The newer material or tonight's material.
So I'll go back to 8. So passing by my, my zia. They went down to Trelas.
Troasses on the coast near really ancient Troy that we've heard about from the Trojan War.
Which doesn't exist anymore by this point. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night.
A man of Macedonia was standing there urging him and saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us.
So up until this point it doesn't seem without this vision. It doesn't seem like Paul really had any intention at this point anyway of going to Macedonia.
Right, he had come up with 2 different options that were in what we now know of as Turkey, both of the both of the places he was thinking about were still in that area.
Still in a relatively familiar part of the world for Paul. And now he's going all over, now he's being called over because that's how they understand this vision as a call.
Yeah, that's Luke tells us that in verse 10. That they concluded that God had called us.
To preach the gospel to them. So they're understanding themselves to be called. To Macedonia and so they leave for Macedonia and we find out from his travel log here and starting in verse 11.
That they go from Tross to Macedonia via Samothrace. Now I don't have my maps this week.
But if you remember or if you want to flip, if you've got maps back in the back of your Bible.
Samothrace is a little island and from Trois. They would have sailed north and people who study these things.
Say that the harbor that they would have stopped at would have been on the north coast of Samothrace.
So that's probably if you're looking at a a map of like Paul's missionary journeys that's probably even.
The route that it gives you.
So they would have gone up to the north coast of Samothrace, probably spent the night because in this day and age they didn't like the idea of sailing in the dark.
So they would have gotten to Sammothrace, spent the night there, and then continued on. To.
Which is the port city. For Philippide.
Now there's another change that happens here that I want to point out. This is where we first start to get what are referred to as the We passages.
If you look, let's see.
In verse 7, the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. Verse 8, passing by Myzia, they went down to Troas.
And in verse 10. When Paul had seen division immediately, we sought to go on into Macedonia.
So it appears that it's at this point. That Luke actually joins the mission. Luke was probably in Trois.
You know, maybe hung up a hung out his shingle and was practicing medicine there in Troas.
And when Paul showed up. And was headed to Macedonia. He decided to join forces. If it's true.
Which a lot of people think it is, if it's true that Luke is a Gentile and is Greek or at least sort of broadly Greek.
Then it would make sense to take, some people even argue that Luke is Macedonian.
But if he's from, if he's not from this part of the world, if he's Living in Trois and practicing medicine in Troas, but he's actually from farther west, then it even makes more sense why he would have joined.
The trip at this point because if Paul is headed into Macedonia. Taking somebody who's from over there would make sense.
So that's all part of the argument that people make. For suggesting that he might have been Macedonian or at least was Greek.
And some broad sense.
So like I said, Neapolis. Is the port city for Philippines. Philippae is a little bit more inland.
And so Napolis is where they start and then they travel on to Philippines. And this is where I think we see Paul kind of.
Easing into this mission. Paul is not. You know, jumping into to unfamiliar waters headfirst.
He's, he's not going to do that. He's bold. I'm not saying that he's timid.
I'm not even saying that he isn't bold. I'm saying he's not stupid.
Right, if you don't know how deep the water is. Don't jump in head first.
And Paul's going to ease into this, right? What does Luke tell us about Philippe?
Not only was it a leading city of the district of Macedonia, and in verse 10, 12.
It was a Roman colony. Paul famously, we haven't had it come up. And acts yet very much, but But later on it'll become a big actually in this chapter.
It'll become a big deal that falls a Roman citizen. So going, even though he's going into Macedonia, a territory where he hasn't been before, He's going to go to a Roman colony, a Roman city.
That even though it's not in Rome, just like Tarsus, where he grows up, isn't in Rome.
Legally, it's part of Rome. Even more so than the rest of the empire. This is a Roman city.
And so he's going to go there because That's more familiar territory. That's going to be a good starting point for himself and for Silas who's also a Roman citizen.
It's going to be a good starting point for them getting into this new territory. They're going to start with some degree of familiarity.
Now, one other thing that I want to. To. To mention and back away from a little bit.
And a lot of. And a lot of talk about this. It's the first time that Paul goes into Europe.
Right? And that is, it's not just plants to confirm. But that's not mentioned in my Bible, but I've even seen it where it heads it, like the subject heading for the passage is, first European mission or first European convert or something like that.
I don't know that Paul or that that, you know, Luke's readers or Luke or anybody else would have made that big of a distinction between Europe and and non-Europe.
For this that the Greeks make that distinction very much so. 400 and some years before Paul. But this is all one part of the world, really.
The difference is, and the significant difference says he is going into Macedonia and he's never been into Macedonia.
He's also never been into Akaya or any of the other. Territories there, but he, I don't think, he might have been, but I don't think that he is conceiving of it primarily as entry into a new continent.
He's just going into new territory. And every time He goes into new territory. It's going to be the same entrance into new territory.
So let's not pull. Our sort of modern understanding of this is Asia. This is Europe. This down here is Africa.
Don't pull that in and impose it too much on Paul and Luke, cause I don't think they were all that concerned about those divisions.
So, like I said, Paul's easing into this. So inverse. Okay. All right, in verse 13, We see some more of that.
Who is Paul looking for? Right? The first points in verse 13. On the Sabbath day.
We went outside the gate to the riverside. Where we supposed there was a place of prayer. Who is Paul looking for?
Jose. Paul's, Paul's going into Macedonia. But and Paul may even have brought a Macedonian with him for for this.
But Paul is not gonna. D with Macedonians. Paul has, he goes to a new city.
He looks for the synagogue. Paul's doing that here also, even though he's in Macedonia and it's interesting.
That it doesn't say that he went looking for the synagogue. Pro because there wasn't a synagogue.
There probably wasn't a large enough Jewish community in Philippae to have built and possessed. A synagogue within the city.
They certainly would have been allowed to. The Roman Empire and a Roman colony would not have. Would not have forbidden the Jews from building a synagogue.
There were times when the Jews got in big trouble with the Roman government. But by and large, As long as nobody had tried to do anything crazy within the last few years.
They would have been allowed, it was a legal religion, it was a recognized religion, and they would have been allowed to.
So the fact that Paul doesn't go to the synagogue. On the Sabbath day.
Suggests to me that there's not enough of a Jewish presence in Philippines. To have built a synagogue.
Instead, where he goes, It says he goes outside the gate. And he goes to the river side.
There's a lot of debate about where exactly this is. Because we're not sure what gate they're talking about.
And there are 2 rivers that people argue about and there's even a creek that's closer.
And so people have all kinds of ideas about this, but.
What's what we definitely know is that very around this time. Very commonly if there was no If there was no synagogue of available.
That Jewish like Jewish. Rabbis, that's the word I'm looking for.
Jewish rabbis would say that the place to gather is by a river by running water, living water.
Flowing water. And if you, if not that, then by the seaside is fine, that's good too, or maybe a lake, but flowing water.
Is the place to go because it's pure. Because you know that it's pure. It's just by virtue of flowing.
It's automated, automatically considered pure. So that's what Paul goes looking for. He says, okay, there's, he's apparently been in Philippines long enough to check around and Confirm.
Yeah, no, I've heard of Jews, but they don't have a synagogue around here.
I don't think, I mean I know where the one in my hometown is. So I would think that the people in Philippine would know where the one in Philip I was.
And he checks around, he's like, well, there's not one. And he either finds out what you know which stream or which river or whatever they gather at.
Or he makes his best guess. And he goes and it says through the gate which might be. An arch.
That's built over a famous Roman road that goes through Neapolis. And then through Philippe and then continues on.
It's called the the via agnostic agnatia.
Ignatia. Something like that. I don't like not to. Okay, thank you.
Somebody who lives there knows how to say it right. Because it goes, how close to home does it go?
It goes all the way to Albania, I know.
Right, okay, yeah. So. It's very famous road, there's an arch.
That goes right over it and that might be the gate that he's talking about. And which case, if it is that gate, then we have a little bit better idea of which river.
But ultimately, that's neither here nor there. Which exact river it is. Of course.
Just a little tidbit. Of course, there are. There are claims made. For sites at both of the rivers.
And at the creek. That you know this is where Paul met the women this is There's one of them that's even like the neighbourhood is named Lidia.
Okay, so. No surprise that everybody is trying to make that kind of claim, but no, no, no, no, this is where it was.
But they go there looking for this place of prayer as opposed to some kind of organized synagogue. Because they're looking for people.
Who would be a starting point. For sharing the gospel, for sharing the news. With people who are already studying God's Word.
Already worshiping God. Already coming to a place of prayer in order to play pray. And let them know the Messiah has come.
He's here. But what's unusual is that they get there and it says we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.
Not to be chauvinistic, but if Paul's sitting down and speaking to the women.
Who are gathered. What does that kind of suggest?
There weren't any men. Right? The normal thing would have been to go preferably to a synagogue.
But, you know, to really assemble a synagogue. To officially even have a time of prayer.
You need 10 men.
And here he goes, and he can't even sit down and chat with 2 or 3 apparently. And so he's going and he sits down, which is sort of a teacher posture.
We don't do that here. I'm standing yell, they're all sitting. But, but the the posture of a Jewish rabbi would have been to come and sit and then people would have crowded and then people would have crowded around him.
So he sits. And these women come. And they're hearing what he has to say. And then one of them.
The only one here that's named We might get some in the epistle to the Philippians.
We don't know. People speculate. But the only one that's named here One who had heard us was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira.
A seller of purple, and whose honor I chose my sweater for tonight. Entirely the wrong shade of purple.
But this is the purple that I have and Bill's actually. Closer to it over there, that very reddish purple is much closer to.
To what she would have been selling. But a seller of purple goods who was a worshipper of God.
So when it says that she was a worshipper of God, That's much more technical than just saying she was worshiping God.
That's a, that especially combined with the fact that she was from Thyatira. Which is not in Israel, it's.
It's over there in Asia, right? That's one of the 7 churches of Asia. Suggests that Lydia is not Jewish.
She's, but she's also not. Entirely one of the pagan Gentiles.
Right, she is. Somewhere in that proselyte spectrum. She is a God-fearer.
Or a worshipper or something. She has attached herself. Very strongly don't know exactly how strongly, but pretty strongly to Judaism even though she wasn't born.
Into it. So, Paul's. Pause attempt to go and find believers. Give him somebody who's closely
Associated with Judaism, but he does get a little bit outside of it. He does. Find a Gentile who's closely associated.
It says the Lord opened her heart. To pay attention to what was said by Paul.
I just wanna make sure.
That I haven't skipped over too much in my notes.
So the Lord opens her heart. She she believes what Paul says She accepts we can presume. Sheikh accepts what he says about the Messiah.
And, and then it says, and after she was back, so. Immediately. Upon confessing Christ.
It seems like it's even that same day. 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.
So.
So she's baptized. It might be the same day. Ethiopian unit kind of seeing where they're right by the riverside anyway.
So, it's like. There's some water. Should we go ahead and do this? Or it may have been a few days later, who knows?
It may have taken a few days before she was fully ready to commit, even though the Lord opened her heart to it.
This first Sabbath it could have taken a little while but But she does accept and she is baptized.
And in fact her whole household is baptized, presumably. They all. Are convinced by the same things that she's convinced by.
And so they are all baptized.
And, you know, we don't. We don't get a lot of detail about that.
Paul or Luke doesn't. Luke doesn't feel the need. To work through a lot of minutiae.
His point is that she has been brought fully. Into this new kingdom. Right, she was a worshipper of God.
She was not. A proselyte. She was not fully accepted as Jewish. Even though she was born Gentile, that was a possible thing.
You could do that. But she hadn't been fully brought in. But now she's fully brought in to the church.
And so then she extends hospitality to them, which is a huge deal in the ancient world. It's not You know, it's not having people over for dinner after church.
That's, you know, that's a good start on hospitality, but that is not how they understood hospitality in the ancient world.
She brings them into her home. They are fully. Fully invested as part of her household. If you attack them, you're attacking her kind of thing.
And she brings them in and it would have actually been an insult. For them to refuse at that point.
That's, that's how strong hospitality was in the ancient world. If you are invited.
Into their home and you don't have like if you were not already living somewhere else in town. If you don't have a really, really good reason, it's an insult to say, we'd rather stay at the comfort end or wherever they had been sleeping for the few days.
That's, that's just not done. So she prevailed upon them and they went to stay with her.
And we'll do the last few verses here. Where they're casting out the spirit.
From the, from this fortune teller girl. So as we were going down to the, as we were going to the place of prayer in verse 16, we were met by a slave girl who My translation says who had a spirit of divination.
Is anybody have anything other than something pretty much like that? Has anybody written Darby?
John Schwitt sometimes shows up with a a copy of Darby's translation and so I thought Somebody.
All right, well, Darby's the only one that I know of that. That does this, but where we have spirit of divination.
It says either spirit of Python or a Python spirit. Or something along those lines. Python, the same word that you think of as a snake.
What is that talking about? Does anybody happen to know? You know?
It's witchcraft. It is witchcraft. But it's very specific.
And if you lived in Greece or Macedonia, you would know you lived not far from there.
Do you know what? The Python is? Either one of you guys. No?
All right, I'll say it a little differently. Pythia, does that sound more familiar?
Maybe not. Okay, we don't have any pagans here. That's good. So here's one that I'm sure you've heard of.
The Oracle at Delphi. All right, before it was called Delphi, it was called Pythia.
Because the pythia was the priestess or prophetess, not priestess, the prophetess.
Who worked there and probably got high there. That's probably how it worked. But the point was that this was a place.
Where supposedly or maybe for real. Spiritual communication took place. I don't have a problem with saying that maybe there were evil spirits communicating with the Pythia.
I also don't have a huge problem with the more secular suggestion that there were vapors that were coming up and she got a little bit high and had some interesting ideas.
I think those could both be true. But it was one of the most important sites for prophecy.
In the the Greco-roman world. Like people would travel to Delphi. To hear prophecy and to ask a question of the oracle or of the Pythia.
That is the kind of spirit of divination. That this girl has. They've, I feel like our modern translations have made it so that we know what they're talking about because.
You know, most of us, if it said Spirit of Python, would be like, okay, that sounds like Saturday morning cartoons.
And so spirit of divination, at least we understand what's going on. But it clouds the fact that This isn't just some fortune teller.
Right? She's tied in. With an identified by Luke. With the kind of prophecy that goes on.
At Delphi that supposedly is, Communication from the God Apollo. That has a stronghold.
On this whole part of the world. One of the most important parts of classical religion. And that's who this girl represents, I think.
That's who Luke's tells us that she represents. So she followed Paul and us crying out.
These men are servants of the Most High. Who proclaimed to you the way of salvation. Now that sounds great.
And I think with coming at it with our understanding. That's great. But I'm not a hundred percent sure.
That the average person walking around in Philippines hearing the girl that they know as a prophetess.
Apiphia of Apollo. I don't know who they think she's talking about when she says the most high.
Who is that? I mean, for us. We read the Old Testament, we read the New Testament.
We hear the most high, we know we're talking about God. But if you're in Philippines, that could be Apollo, or it could be Zeus, or who knows who it is, but it could be anybody.
And, you know how some editions of the Bible will put words in italics?
If there does anybody have? Where it says the way of salvation. Does anybody who has that kind of printing have the in italics.
That's 8. Okay, what translation do you have? Norman standard has a way. All right, a way of salvation.
Hmm Hey, way of solve that doesn't and In the Greek it's oh man you can go back and forth on whether the best way to do it in English is with the or without or is it A?
And my great grammar is nowhere near good enough. Once upon a time, maybe I would have at least known what part of the grammar to turn to.
To really chase that out. But it gets hard.
But I'm not sure it would have been clear to Philippe what she was saying. And so that's why I think Paul gets My version says greatly annoyed.
I don't like that.
I think the best way to render it. Although I don't I think it works in all of the English speaking world is that he got really worked up.
And I'm not just being funny. I mean that is a little bit funny. I'm not trying to be funny because That's really the the
The way the word comes to us. It's working something out in other applications of it. It can literally be about working out, working through a problem.
And so I think, You're says distressed. Some of them say grieved. Yeah, I think, I think.
All of those are getting close. But I think the idea is He's not just a annoyed.
He's not even greatly annoyed. That makes Paul sound petty. And. I mean, I said last week that.
Paul wasn't ready to go to Ephesus. And I think that's true. I think Paul still has maturation and growth.
Before he is ready to go to Ephesus. But I don't think he's petty.
I think Paul's really concerned about this. Why? Because Paul recognizes this girl represents a confrontation with the entire religious system that has a hold on the entire Breco Roman world.
It's been a different game in, you know, Turkey. It's been a different thing that he's been dealing with there, and now he's going into new territory where he's dealing with new stuff and he's I think really worked up.
Because of the situation. Because of this girl who's confronting him. And I think presenting something confusing.
Right? This can be confusing to people. They can say, oh, this is great. We can accept this way of salvation.
It's the most high. I mean, the Jews think that's this Yahweh guy.
We are over here and we think it's Zeus. This girl's like really dialed in with Apollo.
So for her maybe she's talking about Apollo, but absolutely. And Paul doesn't want that.
Paul doesn't want some sort of like You know, I'm a version of the way. Maybe even the best one, but no, no, no.
That's not what he wants.
And she kept doing this for many, verse 18. She kept doing this for many days, all having become really worked up about this.
Turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.
And it came out over that very hour. So Paul decides at some point on. On a day when he is going to the place of prayer.
He decides it's time for this confrontation. And he confronts that power with the power of the name of Christ.
And casts that casts that spirit out of her and it came out of her that very hour.
I don't think we're talking about an hour. I think that's just a way of saying.
Right away. If it took an hour, then, What does that show anybody, right? Nobody, people see it by the time the spirit's actually gone and she's in her right mind those people are somewhere else and they're new people around no I think it came out right away.
This is just a way of expressing that. This raises some serious problems for Paul. That we're not going to get into tonight.
But next week we'll come back and we'll see how this this confrontation that all basically said, OK.
You want to go to toe to to with Jesus? You can go toe to toe with Jesus and see where you end up.
We'll see how that plays out here in Philippines. Next week as a That's her employers or owners.
Figure out what has taken place. But that's all I have. Or for this passage tonight. Are there?
Any questions before I close in prayer?
Oose the study time in prayer. Okay. Reading, I was reading. Joseph's story.
And. Genesis, 44, verse 5, it says, is not this one. The silver cup.
Is not this the one from which my lord drinks and with which indeed practices divination.
So that's the cup, you know, they put it in Benjamin. And then they say it again too.
Yeah.
This, I don't know. Well, it's not. It's not the same as the Pythian.
But I will.
I will write that down. What was the verse again? 44 what?
I look at what that is in Greek. That'll be interesting. No, that's not your pen.
That was up here. It might be, but if it is, you left it up here.
Great. Oh, I was just gonna say I'll look and see if the if the Greek is Similar or what.
What that is but Interesting. Yeah, it's interesting. Think that kind of gets It does, it does.
I've skipped it apparently. I haven't. Haven't dug deeply into Joseph's divination.
Mike?
Grave, what were you going to say? This is very interesting. You know, when she is proclaiming.
These people, that this new proclaims the way of, Let me get the the, the, the, the, the, the, the, What was I saying about Paul's in maturity?
I wasn't saying. So first of all, I wasn't. Saying that Paul was immature.
I was just saying that from this point in in his ministry, he's going to continue to mature.
And that, you know, later down the road, he would be ready to go to Ephesus.
No, I actually don't think that he's being immature here. I think he handles this.
This properly. Where I was talking about. Anything like immaturity. Is we were talking about last week and we read it the beginning here.
Is that he wants to go to Ephesus or he wants to go to Asia. And he's forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.
And then they think to go to Bithenia. And they're forbidden to go to Bethenia.
And that's how they end up on this trajectory. And I was asking last week, it's like, why?
Why wasn't he allowed to go to Asia, which was his original plan? It is a You know, it's a major.
Area. It's heavily populated. God has basically taken him and said, no, don't go to this heavily populated place where there are lots and lots and lots of people.
Who need to hear the gospel. Instead, go to this backwater. I mean, Macedonia and Greece.
They had their heyday back, you know, with Plato and Aristotle and Alexander the Great and they were They were a big deal then.
But that was 300 years ago, they're kind of a backwater at this point in history and they're not very heavily populated.
So why would God funnel him up there instead of letting him go to Asia? And I think part, and especially since eventually, He gets back to Asia.
He spends 3 years in Ephesus and he does amazing work in Ephesus. I think it's because he's not ready.
For FSS yet. He still needs to see some of the things indo some of the things.
That he's going to do and see. While he's traveling through Macedonia and and Greece proper.
And learn and develop. Figure out some stuff, try some things that go to Athens and fall on his face.
Try some things that don't work. And then. God, God doesn't want to send him to Ephesus and have him fall on his face.
God wants to send them to Ephesus. After he's, really gotten. Gotten learned how this is supposed to to be done.
And then he can go to Ephesus for 3 years and impact that whole part of the world, churches all over there.
So no, I think he handled that situation. Just fine. That's why I don't like the greatly annoyed.
Translation. I think that makes them sound. Immature and and I think that's misleading.
Alright, I'll close in prayer then.
Father, we thank you for this work that You're servant Paul did. Bringing the gospel to new people to new places.
Bring the gospel to to people who needed to hear it. And bringing the gospel to confront.
The, the false religions. That had enslaved.
The world. We see it enslaving this girl, but. We know that she's just the most obvious that all of these people in Macedonia are enslaved and power of sin.
And Father, we thank you that Paul was able to bring the gospel to them. We pray that as we look at this, we will.
We will understand the work that we have to do, that we will seek the opportunities. That your spirit directs us toward.
And that we will wait on those opportunities that we're not ready for yet. Father, we pray that your spirit.
Would guide us and that as we enter into a time of prayer now. That we would we would come before you.
To to glorify you and also to bring our petitions to you. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.