Life and a short sermon

Today has been a pretty good day so far. My beloved Ducks beat USC. I have been a Ducks fan for a long time, and through the last 10 to 12 years they have had a pretty good team. It would be great if they could get a national championship, perhaps this is the year. Then the Cougs beat UCLA.
That was the way a rough week ended. I think I am getting sick, or stressing out. Next week will be very busy. On Monday my daughter is seeing an Oral Surgeon to have a cyst removed, then on Tuesday my wife is having a cap put on a tooth that broke last week. Then on Wednesday (Halloween) Caleb is getting braces. On Friday, Joanna and her friend head off to a scrapbook retreat up in Sandpoint, Idaho, so I will have the kids.

All in all it is going to be a very busy week. On top of all of what the future week has in store, I think I am coming down with something.

Okay, enough whining.

This week I was looking at the church plant in Philippi. The story unfolds in Chapter 16 in the book of Acts, starting in verse 11 through the end of the chapter..

11So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. 13And on the Sabbath day 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. 14One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15And 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.
16As 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 gain by fortune-telling. 17She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly 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.
19But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” 22The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. 27When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.
35But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” 36And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” 38The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. 40So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

We see in verse 13 that there was no synagogue for Paul to preach at. Knowing there was no synagogue, Paul goes to the river and meets Lydia. His first convert in Philippi. The second convert is a demon possessed woman who taunts Paul for a few days. The third convert is the jailor that was ready to commit suicide upon thinking Paul had escaped. This is the beginning of the church in Philippi. Ten years later he starts his letter to the church with,
“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:
2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

It surprises me with the people that God use to build His Kingdom. No one exempt from being used by God. We often put limits on ourselves, or feel unworthy or worse unusable due to our past. Yet that is not the case. He who began a good work in us will continue that work. It was evident that God began work in Philippi on the first day (Phil. 1:4), and when Paul wrote this, God was still using them.
If someone came to me with a proposal to start a church with a woman, another woman who was demon possessed, and a man in the prison system, I don’t know if I would take you seriously. But when it comes to God and His church, he uses even the most broken person for His glory.

God may not be calling you to a church plant, but if you are a Christian, God is asking you to be a part of His Church. It is God who is working in you, don’t sell yourself short when it comes to being used in the church. If you have the Holy Spirit, then you have a gift that you can use to help the Church.