ACTS
Pursuing The Call – Part 2
JUNE 16, 2019
Acts 16:16-38
FATHER’S DAY
OUTLINE
And the journey continues . . .
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 gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “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 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. Acts 16:16-18 (ESV)
But 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. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. Acts 16:19-24 (ESV)
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and 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. When 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. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then 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. Acts 16:25-34 (ESV)
But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” But 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.” The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed. Acts 16:35-40 (ESV)
Don’t base your understanding of God on your circumstances, instead evaluate your circumstances by what you know to be true about God.
MANUSCRIPT
No Power Greater
I’m the kind of person that tends to think that what happens in life, happens for a reason. I may not know what that reason is at the time, but I see things as all interconnected. For instance, the difficult times in my life have been training for events that I would later face.
I love the movie, The Karate Kid. It’s a classic and I realize I’m dating myself with this reference, but the Karate kid is interesting to me because this wise old instructor, a man who has obviously had some major life experience, is preparing his young student with seeming less menial and self-serving tasks. “Wash the car”, “paint the fence”, yet each of these later would prove to be the basis for skills that the young student would need in battle. The student didn’t know it but the instructor did and trust in the instructor is vital.
What if that struggles you’re facing right now are a teaching session preparing you for something you’re not aware of? What if that difficult task today will be useful later?
Today we’re going to see some interconnected events in the life of Paul and his team.
As we continue our series in Acts, we see that the team has arrived in Macedonia and began their ministry. Let’s pick up the narrative in verse 16 of acts 16.
And the journey continues . . .
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 gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “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 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. Acts 16:16-18 (ESV)
So, here’s the scene, the preachers are out helping people understand and know the way to God and interrupting them is this girl who is proclaiming that what they are saying is true. She actually was saying these words in an annoying fashion, still what she was saying was accurate. BUT, Paul finally after many days, fed up with it, turns and casts out the demon in her.
Now, the first thought you might have is, why? If she is affirming the truth of who these men are and what they are preaching, why cast out the demon and why not just let her be the walking “bill-board” promoting these men?
Well the obvious answer is that satan never does anything without a scheme behind it. The Bible says that our enemy is like a roaring lion walking about seeking whom he may destroy and that he is sneaky and stealthy. His goal was not to prop up the messengers but to tear them down and ultimately discredit them.
By association, he sought to discredit the preachers. Let me out it to you this way. Not too long ago a certain politician received a donation from a questionable group for his campaign. Now, could he use the money for his good cause? Yes, of course, but what message would it send if he did?
The message is that there’s an association and shared values among the donor and the recipient. Receiving money from the KKK would automatically link you and associate you with their devilish values, no right thinking person would want to be associated with them.
AND PAUL WANTED NO SUCH ASSOCIATION.
BTW – the people you associated with, hang out with, go out with, all of them make a statement about you and your values. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Bad company corrupts good morals.”
Paul casts out the demon, and then the real trouble and maybe Satan’s real scheme begins,
But 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. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. Acts 16:19-24 (ESV)
Paul and Silas are thrown into prison because of the mob mentality and the jailer is charged with his life to keep them. Obviously, there was some animosity toward these men. You see, no business leader, no general, no person of power would go into business, war, or a new venture without seeking information from a diviner, or a person like this girl that had been freed for the demon. The people that handled her were now losing money, the leaders their lost their source of mystical information and Paul and Silas were the cause of this great loss in their minds.
Now, we could spend a lot of time talking about what this prison looked like, what it would have been like to be in there, but simply put, these men were beaten, no fun there. They were put in stocks which means their feet were chained, there was no running from this. To be certain nothing else happened, the jailer put them in the inner part of the jail, no windows, no chance of escape.
All this for serving the Lord. Beatings, mistreatment, stocks, darkest part of the prison. Serving Jesus sure is fun.
Many people envision ministry so different than it really is.
• Pastor – most pastors I know consider regularly how they can do something else with their lives, very few make it to a retirement age still in ministry, only 10%, 50% of pastors only make 5 years or less in ministry.
• Missionaries – you may picture a glamorous spot or people who welcome you to their village with loving arms. Often, it’s the exact opposite. Jim Elliot and his group were shot with arrows and killed by natives in South American jungle. My friend Anise Irfan has lived his entire life in Pakistan. His father a pastor and they have experienced their home being burned down, their family arrested and harassed even though they loving serve the community and offer an excellent school that even all of the Muslims want their children to go to.
• Pastors wives and children – pressure, undue expectations, etc.
Why do missionaries and pastors and pastor’s families do what they do? They know that no matter what, after this life is over, we will rejoice eternally over what God has done through us in mere moments of time.
While I can’t compare myself to Paul and Silas, I can tell you many times I wondered how I could keep going, yet with my eyes on the prize I keep pressing forward to do God’s work knowing that in this life it will pass.
So, these pioneers are tossed to rot in prison, but God had an amazing plan for their circumstances that they only could have imagined and not fully.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken.
Take a quick notice here, “the prisoners were listening to them.” BTW – people are watching you in church and out. These men were tossed in prison for serving Jesus and they were singing to God. Some people go to church and as if they’re forced to do it, and then stand with hands in pockets as others sing praise to God. Your worship and your life are a witness. Soon see that the prisoners were not the only one’s listening.
And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When 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. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then 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. Acts 16:25-34 (ESV)
Now this is remarkable stuff. Paul and Silas are accused of proclaiming the one true God and when then cast out a demon and change the economic condition of these living in this region, they’re thrown in prison and their testimony is still in tact regardless of their circumstances.
They sit their and praise and I guess wait for whatever God wants to do next. What does God do next? HE RESCUES THEM WITH GREAT POWER. The prison walls come down.
NOW HAS THIS EVER HAPPENED BEFORE IN SCRIPTURE? Is there a time when people praise God and walls came down? Of course, I’m referring to Jericho.
The example for us is that praise is both personally helpful in redirecting our thoughts off circumstances, but it’s also very powerful in the physical realm.
These missionaries keep the jailer from killing himself since for if the authorities found the jail empty, he would be a dead man and not just killed but viciously killed. The missionaries knew there was another divine appointment and it was the very ne who had applied the wounds they were suffering from. The very one who placed the chains on them and set them deep in the prison. Apparently, the other prisoners were not the only ones to listen to these men. The jailer knows enough to ask how to be saved.
He and his household come to Christ and they clean the wounds and feed these men.
AS A FATHER HE LEADS HIS FAMILY TO THE TRUTH HE’S DISCOVERED.
NOW, COULD YOU IMAGINE A SITUATION WHERE THOSE WHO HURT YOU THE MOST WOULD BE THE ONES WHO SERVE YOU THE MOST AND CARE FOR YOU THE MOST? With God it’s possible.
Now, let’s finish the chapter.
But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” But 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.” The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed. Acts 16:35-40 (ESV)
I won’t take long here, but suffice it to say that your true citizenship will make a difference for you.
Paul asserted his position for a reason and that reason would lead him eventually to stand before kings. So, look here, from a demon who meant them harm to your captor healing your wounds and feeding you to speaking in authority over those who accused them. All their circumstances were just part of God’s plan.
So, here’s my encouragement to you, even though today you’re not in prison for your faith, falsely accused. Even though today, your feet are free and you can go where you will. TODAY, HOWEVER, I AM AWARE THAT THERE ARE CHALLENGES IN YOUR LIFE. HOW WILL YOU VIEW THEM? As an end or part of a chain of God’s plan for your life?
Don’t base your understanding of God on your circumstances, instead evaluate your circumstances by what you know to be true about God.
What would happen if every person in here began to live like this? Your current situation needs not to be firmly fixed on another for blame, nor does it have to be your defeat. It’s simply the next thing that God will use in your life.
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