Acts #47 - Multilevel Transformation

Acts 16:16-39 (NIV) Read by: Derekah Kingery When the Spirit of God shows up in a place, what do you expect to be transformed? Today’s story from Acts helps us see the kinds of things that get flipped upside down and inside out when God moves in power. And what we expect to be transformed by Jesus says a lot about how we view Jesus and his Kingdom, and the authority that he has. When they Spirit of God shows up in a place, transformation begins to take place on at least 3 levels. One level is at the individual level, lives are transformed, individuals are set free, people are healed, and someone new walks out the otherside. Another is at a group level. Not only do individuals transform and experience restoration, but groups of individuals that belong to one another begin to be transformed. Families are redeemed, households are saved, communities are restored, and a new group is created. And then there is transformation at a systems level, this kind of transformation can be a bit more tricky to spot but if you listen carefully you’ll hear it. This kind of change upends the normal order of things and creates more just, more whole, more righteous ways of doing and being as a society. Systems of oppression are broken, economic bondage is loosed, the old ways of doing things are replaced by a way that is more closely aligned with God’s heart. In today’s passage we see these three levels being transformed as Paul and Silas cast out spirits, are arrested, and see an entire household rescued by Jesus through an earthquake. In each of these levels, human and spiritual forces that work against Jesus succumb to the authority of Jesus. So as you listen, pay attention to where you see these levels being transformed. ----------REFLECT---------- 1. What levels did you notice in this passage, was there one example that stood out to you? 2. The woman who had the spirit cast out of her was individually transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, but it also transformed the group level in that the dynamic of control and profit that her owners had was gone. And it quickly got raised to a systems level as they went to the authorities complaining that Paul and Silas were causing an uproar. Are there issues today that you can think of that need God’s transformation at all three levels? 3. In the same way that the evil one can hold individuals and groups and systems captive, the LORD can use individuals, groups and systems to bring about his Goodness, like he did with the Jailer, the Jailers household and the magistrate, and the system of Roman citizenship. How might you pray for God to work in all these levels considering the issues that came to mind from the previous question. ----------GO DEEPER---------- Bible Project: Acts 13-28 Overview >> InterVarsity Press Selections: Acts >> ----------CONNECT---------- Find an InterVarsity Chapter >> Start an InterVarsity Chapter >> Learn More >>