Today let us talk about breakthroughs! Breakthroughs in regions, breakthroughs in the church, in breakthroughs in people’s lives. This is an important topic for us as we enter into a season wherein God is calling the people of God to go higher in preparation for the release of His Spirit in the earth.

We will begin with Acts 16:4-5 and discuss the steps Paul took in his second missionary journey, incorporating the prophetic experiences that guided him to Philippi, and what he went through building the Church of Philippi.

What decrees? The ones detailed in Acts 15. These were the guidelines for new converts—specifically Gentiles—which were decided upon by the Council in Jerusalem. Paul and Silas headed out in submission to the Apostles to distribute the message and welcome the Gentiles into the faith. What a beautiful opportunity for one of the most profound church planters in the Scriptures to embark upon for his second missionary journey.

So, let’s look at three Greek words in this passage as they demonstrate how the Lord led Paul and his team along this missionary journey.

It is important that we as Christians, recognize the difference between the enemy’s obstruction and God’s redirection to reorder our steps in accordance to His plans and purposes.

Acts 16:7, “Suffered them not” the Greek verb Eao, implies that the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them. However, this Greek word has an added element. The issue of restraint here which is presented by the Spirit of Jesus, underscores the interplay between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. It seems Paul and Jesus had a discussion over whether or not he and his team should head into Bithynia, and the Lord’s preference was for him to go the opposite direction. Paul heeded the Lord’s directive, obeying His will and not Paul’s initial intent, and as a result, he reaped a great harvest.

Acts 16:9, “vision” is very significant. The Greek noun is Hórama "to see, (spiritually and mentally") – a vision (spiritual seeing), focusing on the impact it has on the one beholding the vision.

This is a God-initiated disclosure perceived by the human recipient, in this case Paul, with the purpose of revealing truth, directing missions, or authenticating divine action. In Scripture these visions never stand alone; they are woven into the larger fabric of redemptive history, consistently harmonizing with previous revelation and propelling the Gospel forward.

Paul obeyed the Spirit of the Lord every step of the way. From Him outright forbidding Paul to go into Asia to suffering him not (or having a conversation with him) about whether or not to enter Bithynia, to the vision of the Macedonian man to convey the seriousness “come and help us.” Paul’s missionary journey is being redirected by the Spirit of Jesus in a masterfully ordered sequence of events. There are many times when one must obey the first command to receive the next.

As I said, this is all part of the fabric of God’s redemptive plan to propel the Gospel forward, in this case, from Asia to Europe. This was significant and strategic to a regional breakthrough for the Kingdom of God. Why? On Paul’s second missionary journey, he planted nine churches. In addition, some of the most revelatory writings we read in the Scriptures are letters Paul wrote to the churches he planted here. The directives, and Paul’s immediate obedience to those directives, provide strategic redirection of Paul’s mission to accomplish God’s divine purposes in the earth.

Let’s read on:

This region had very little Light, but Paul, led by the Spirit, is igniting the flames within.

Jewish people were scattered throughout the known world in the diaspora. Wherever they went, if there were enough men, they would establish a synagogue. Typically, to have a synagogue—which we know was customary for Paul to go to first when embarking on an outreach in the cities he travelled through—they needed a minyan. A minyan is a quorum of 10 adult Jewish men to read through the communal prayers and for certain components of the regular daily or Shabbat services. Philippi did not have a minyan. The backup for the devout worshippers of God was to meet by the river for service. This is where Paul meets Lydia. I find it interesting that she has two verses dedicated to her conversion, yet she was so ripe for the harvest, I don’t believe she needed much more. Her home was likely the base of the Philippian Church. She is a woman of great means, a seller of purple (a trade still alive today in Thyatira or along the coast of modern-day Turkey) with a compound large enough to easily house Paul and his companions, she and her family are the first converts in Paul’s short stay in Philippi.

Acts 16:16-18 will serve as the catalyst for Paul’s next revival service although not quite as pleasant.

The jailor was unnamed. Lydia’s conversion receives two verses and a follow-up verse after Paul is set free from the jailhouse. She worshipped God but needed the revelation of Jesus. The jailor, however, remains unnamed, and yet, the account of his conversion encompasses most Acts 16. He needed not only a revelation of Jesus, but he needs a revelation of the One true God.

The jailor was a Roman, they had a god—small “g”—for everything and they incorporated into their worship the Greek gods. They believed everything was subordinate to the rule and direction of the gods and they believed they had to obtain favor of them. The Romans deified objects, planets, the earth and so on, and as their culture grew, as so often occurs, the perverse side of idolatry did as well as demonstrated by the 1000s of temple prostitutes residing at the temples of Diana and Athena. This perversion will eventually be the downfall of their civilization. This is the cultural and religious background of this jailor. He was likely a retired Roman official, a general perhaps, who saw much on the battlefield, and now lives as a warden of a Roman prison. He is ordered to keep Paul and Silas, these “rebels to Rome” from escaping.

They went from a lovely river to a beautiful newly planted house church, to the damp and dusky inner chambers of the jailhouse within a matter of days. What is their response? As we read this, think about how you would respond.

Acts 16:25-28

Now, their bloodied bodies have been thrust into rusty shackles. At the very least, their legs would be placed into stocks, a very painful position that kept them completely immobilized. At most, their head and hands would be placed into wooden stocks as well. No dressing of their wounds, but rather, a violent thrusting of those aching bodies into physical bondage. It is from this place that Paul and Silas lift up their voices and sing of the praises of the King of kings. A “Church of Philippi” is born of the Word, prayer, and praise to the One Who died for them.

The earth begins to shake under the power and anointing of their response in affliction. When the servants of the Lord respond as God directs them, mountains are moved on their behalf, the Light enters the darkest corners, and cuts through the locks that hold the shackles down. The prison doors are open, and the captives are set free. God is ushering in a revival in this corner of the Roman world, one that will shake this jailor and his whole family out of their spiritual bondage.

Paul and Silas could have fled, leaving the Roman jailor to pay the price. According to Roman law, if a prisoner escaped, the jailor served his sentence, often with his own life. Paul and Silas, as Roman citizens, would certainly know this. The fact that they stayed, and it appears, convinced the other prisoners to do the same, makes one wonder if the jailhouse revival began before the prison doors were ever opened. This whole event opened the eyes of this Roman jailor to see the power of the Living God in his midst. While the jailor remains unnamed, he has the most dramatic conversion in this passage.

What a contrast from Paul’s first revival meeting in Philippi! Paul goes from a wonderful worship service by the side of a beautiful river, to setting a captive girl free from demonic bondage. Revival is on the move! Imagine their surprise when they are attacked, stripped down and beaten publicly, then thrown into the inner chamber of a jailhouse. Yet, the results were the same, entire households were transformed by the Gospel message of this obedient servant of the Lord.

Two sinners form an unlikely bond as they both get saved an enter the family of God. The Church of Philippi is born in this short visit! In the film “Acts of the Apostles” they have the young slave girl, thrust from her home as she is no longer valuable to her masters, sitting in the house of Lydia. Wouldn’t that be a beautiful end to this account?

A decade later, Paul will write to the church in Philippi while sitting in Rome under house arrest awaiting trial for his supposed crimes against Rome. This is one of the most beautiful love letters in the New Testament. This Church was the first fruits of European Christianity, a message of love for those he laid his life down for, to thank them for their love and support of him all these years. He, a bondservant of the Lord, sat chained to a Roman guard 24/7 leading one after another to Jesus. His letter to them was one of love and encouragement while he himself sats in bonds. He calls them to remain united, to be of one spirit, one mind, and to stand firm striving for the faith of the Gospel. And, to follow his example working out their salvation with fear and trembling. It’s a beautiful love letter from an Apostle to this Church planted under the direction and guidance of the Lord.

What an example of how submission, obedience, and prophetic revelation breaks through the darkness in the heart of man to bring in God’s light!

I’d like to share a vision from the Lord.

As I laid my head on my pillow, I immediately went into a vision. It was as though I was being flown across the landscape of our nation to view church after church. I did not see the denominations; I only knew that they were churches. Some were completely dark. However, others were completely engulfed in flames. It was a fire that did not burn. It was the baptism of fire, and it was consuming them! It was a most remarkable and glorious fire, the only light in the region, and men were being drawn to it from all around the city. The vision ended.

Two things:

First, I believe the Lord is speaking to me about America specifically right now, because of the deep work He needs to do not only in this country as we war against the forces of evil in our nation, but the deep work He is doing in the Church. They say as California goes, so goes the nation. As America goes, so goes the nations. We are to be a light unto all the world, a city set upon a hill, but it’s really the Church in America that is to be the light shining brightly to draw all men unto Him. The brilliance of the Church, the House of Prayer, draws a nation upward into the plans and purposes of God and brings His Kingdom into the earth!

Second, God is trying to pave the way for His Spirit to move in the earth in this mighty end-time revival that has been prophesied about for decades. It will come in the form of our 3rd Great Awakening and it will set the captives of not only America free, but it will sweep across nation after nation opening their eyes to the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and, regardless of their living conditions, to set those captives free from the spiritual bondages of sin and death.

The enemy knows this is coming, we forget he hangs out in the spiritual realm and hears the stirrings of revival. Remember, early in December I shared the workings of the angels of the 9Rs? Surely, the enemy sees them working too. He is doing everything he can to thwart God’s plans, to divide God’s people, and to prevent this incredible harvest. Our fight is to ensure both the spiritual work and the natural work are accomplished in preparation for that harvest.

God is directing this process. At times He outright forbids us from going in a certain direction. Other times He suffers us to shift directions. Still, at other times, He gives us a vision to call us into a certain area to target it with our prayers, with the Word, and so on, because He knows this is the hour and the fields are ripe for the harvest. He trusts us with these things because He knows we will obey His directives, and what a privilege it is to be part of His plan to set the captives free. What a joy it is to serve under the leadership of Mom all these years, and alongside a group of intercessors who are willing to obey the Lord and help us do our part in this great and mighty harvest that is coming.

I think it is important for us to think about what we would do to further revival. What steps would we take, how would we sow into it, what arenas would we be willing to break through in order to bring in His light to a desperate and darkened world?

Blessings & love

Ricci Johnson-Wilson

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