Acts | Chapter 16

 

Acts 16:1-18

“Graceful in grace”

Vs. 1-5 Liberty in the hands of grace

Vs. 6-10 In the direction of grace

Vs.  11-15 A purple heart, the medal of grace

Intro.

This last Sunday I finally got my 15 seconds of fame that they all say will come to you sooner or later. I had always thought this moment would come in such a way that would make me look far better than I really am. My 15 seconds of fame came as my son and I had just left Arco arena having just witnessed the Kings demolish the Spurs. We made our way out the front entrance (the busiest) instead of the side where our car was parked. The game had been a sellout so the usual bumping and shoving was going on as we headed out. Now Tommy looked at me and said, “Dad lets take a short cut across the lawn!” As he was saying that he jumped the three-foot fence and was heading downward across the lawn. 

I watched him clear the fence without even touching it. As I approached the wall my first reaction was, “Don’t do it!” But just then Tommy turned around and looked at me, you know that look Dads don’t you? The look that says, “Man is he ever getting old, why the poor old codger can’t even jump a wall!” So I went for it! My approach was not very good but my landing was far worse. You see I fell face first into the grass and continued to roll down the hill 15 to 20 feet. As I stood up again, all I could hear was my son laughing and his words, “How does it feel to be the center of attention in front of 17,000 people?”

I had every intention of being graceful, in my head I pictured myself like what I had just seen my son accomplish yet in my freedom and liberty to jump the wall I was anything but graceful. As I tried to calm Tommy down from his hysterics a Bible verse popped into my head, (1 Cor 6:12) in the N.L.T. It is worded this way “You may say, I am allowed to do anything.” But I reply, “Not everything is good for you.” And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.” You see I had the freedom to hop the wall but it was not good for me. It brought into view practically the difficulty we Christians have in being graceful in our grace. You see grace carries with it, in practical application, the words, “It’s not about me!”  In this section before us today we see the art of being “graceful in grace”.   

Vs. 1-5 Liberty in the hands of grace

Vs. 1 You will recall that Derbe and Lystra were two of the cites Paul and Barnabas had visited during their first missionary journey five years earlier. Comparing the travel patterns between the two journeys you will see that Paul and Silas are heading in reverse order. Now we know that on the first journey they went first to Cyprus which was Barnabas home and this time he took John Mark with him. So Paul takes the inland route through his hometown of Tarsus, a place where he had ministered several years after his conversion. This time he is with Silas and they travel until they reach Derbe.

Paul had a history in these towns; Lystra was where he was stoned and dragged out of the city when they thought he had died. Then you will recall that the next day he goes back into the city then departs to Derbe. Now when Paul had traveled the 40 miles to Derbe he was still, no doubt, bearing the marks of his stoning. All that Luke tells us of the ministry in Derbe is that they preached the gospel there and made many disciples. Apparently one of those disciples was a young teenager named Timothy. I was trying to picture in my mind how I would have reacted to someone, who was in the process of healing from having stones hurled at him, come and share about Jesus. I kind of think  this would have caused Paul’s words to carry much more weight. What could possibly possess a man to share freely an ideology which clearly does not benefit him anything? Why would this stranger risk his life to people he has never met to mention a name which some clearly hate to hear?   

We are told in the book that bears his name that Timothy was the son of a Greek father and that his mother’s name was Eunice and grandmother’s name was Lois. Evidently his Jewish Mother and Grandmother had from his childhood taught him the Scriptures, as Timothy 3:15 tells us. So on that day, five years earlier, as a young teenager listening to a bloodied man speak of the fulfillment of those scriptures alongside his mother and Grandmother he gave his life to Jesus.

Vs. 2 So what had happened to this teenager in the five years that followed his conversion? Well Luke tells us only that he was well spoken of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium. Hey folks, I’ve got to tell you that as a pastor nothing encourages me more than to hear good things about you. In a time when so many equate the Church’s success on how large it is I believe it is far better to hear how healthy it is. In Jesus’ messages for the Churches in Revelation He never says, “I see how many come into your doors and how full your parking lot has become!” No He says, “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.” The plain truth was that Timothy had grown in his relationship with Jesus in Paul’s absence to the place where Paul sees his value in taking him with him on his 2nd missionary journey.

Vs. 3-5 It is believed that Timothy is probably in his late teens or very early 20’s. Now under Jewish law a child took the religion of the Mother so Timothy should have been circumcised when he was eight days old according to the law but he had not been. The Jews of that region knew that Timothy’s dad was a Greek so in not being circumcised Timothy would have been seen as one who was renouncing his Jewish heritage in favor of his Greek heritage. So why the sudden change in the attitude of Paul? Paul stood up adamantly opposed to the circumcision of the Gentile Titus, but here suggests it in the case of Timothy. Simply put the unsaved Jews would have seen Timothy as an apostate! Wow what a tough decision Paul, Timothy and Silas needed to make here. Paul saw clearly that Timothy was a gifted and called young man that would be of great service to the Lord’s work. But there was a problem of perception in using him, as he would be a stumbling block to hear the gospel of grace.

Now the irony of all of this is that they were going to go through the cities delivering to the Church the decrees agreed upon by the council at Jerusalem. Yeah so? Well what did those decrees state? They stated primarily that a Gentile was saved by grace and not by circumcision and keeping the law. So what do we gain from these two verses as far as application?

SERVICE HAS A HIGHER STANDARD: What I mean is that all one needs to ask is, “Did Timothy have to be circumcised?” The simple answer is NO! Paul plainly states in verse 3 that Paul took Timothy to get circumcised “BECAUSE OF THE JEWS” The word “because” means out of consideration of the Jews. In other words Timothy had the liberty or freedom to remain uncircumcised and still be a Christian, but if he wanted to be serving in the area of evangelism and the Word he would need to set aside his liberty and freedom for the sake of others. I don’t think that Paul meant this as some sort of test but it was none the less still an important test. I can see in myself and others a clear example of whether or not someone is called to lead others to the degree they are willing to set aside their liberty and freedoms. 

One of the great pieces of evidence of a person’s maturity and growth in the grace of Jesus is their willingness to set aside personal freedoms for the sake of others’ spiritual growth! Timothy had a choice and could have said, “I’m not going to get circumcised, I have the liberty and freedom in Christ not too.” Or he could have responded in the way in which he apparently did by saying, “Sure I’ll get circumcised because I already am saved and I want to make sure that others will get saved as well.”  Timothy showed his maturity and understanding of grace by giving up his liberty for the sake of love and a more effective ministry. How about you? 

 GRACE MEANS FURTHERING GOD’S KINGDOM NOT MY FREEDOM: Again look at the irony of this as Timothy went with Paul and Silas sharing the wonderful glorious truth that salvation was by grace and not circumcision. And what was the sign that Timothy got that? Well the sign was that he had gotten circumcised so that they would be more receptive to the message! And look here it worked. You see if you really understand grace then you realize that it’s not about you it’s about God and His kingdom! The outcome we are told here is that the Churches were literally made solid or stable in the faith. Look at this again it does not say that they were made solid in programs, hype or any of the other so called tried and true methods of Church growth. No they were made solid in the FAITH, which is the teaching of the Word. The outcome of a strong and healthy Church was that God added to their number daily! Pastor Chuck is fond of saying, “Healthy sheep will reproduce healthy sheep!”

So looking over these five verses I see a fourfold prescription for spiritual growth:

Vs. 1-2 DISCIPELSHIP: As Paul saw Timothy he took him under his wing and began to work with him. Folks this is the best thing anyone can do to grow in Christ, get with an older, more mature believer and hang out and learn from them.

Vs. 3 DENY SELF: As Timothy submitted to the act of circumcision he was cutting away his own flesh with its self-interest. You will see no further spiritual growth in your life until you deny yourself.

Vs. 4 DEPEND ON JESUS: They brought the letters of the leadership that stated the righteousness was upon trusting in Jesus and not our works. So we too must continue to learn to trust in Jesus in everything we do and not ourselves.

Vs. 5 DIG INTO THE WORD: As the Word was shared these Christians became more stable. Paul would later encourage this same Timothy with the words, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Folks, spiritual growth can’t happen apart from getting into the Word of God.

Vs. 6-10 In the direction of grace

Now it is interesting to me that as we take up this next section of God’s leading and guiding it follows right on the heels of spiritual growth. So many people in the Church want to know God’s will for particular situations but I think there would be far less worry in this area if we all just dedicated ourselves to the above four things. But be that as it may we can still see some truths to help us learn how to be “directed by the Spirit of God.”

Vs. 6a JUST GO: Paul is following what and where he felt God was leading based upon where they had gone before. When Paul came to Iconium they did not feel like going down to Antioch or Perga where they had come on the first trip so Paul just kind of thought, well lets go to Asia. Asia was where Ephesus was at and it was also the place where they would stop by on the way home. The point is these guys didn’t let not knowing where to go to stop them from going. So many folks say, “Well I just don’t know what God’s will is  so I’m not going to do anything.” That was not the case with Paul; he followed a course and allowed the Lord to stop him. In other words God guides us best when we already have momentum.

Vs. 6b-7a GOD OPENS DOORS and CLOSES DOORS: We are not told how the Holy Spirit forbid the team to go down to Asia where Ephesus is or to not go to Bithynia which is on the Black Sea but He did. Simply put the Team was being guided by hindrance or closed doors. We don’t often look at God’s will this way but the truth is He guides us as much by not allowing us what we want as He does by what He allows. What is interesting is that in 1 Peter 1:1 Peter includes the Christians in Bithynia in his address. So just because God closes a door for you does not mean that it is closed to someone else.    

Vs. 8 THEY WENT WHERE HE LET THEM GO: Unable to go to the left or the right they went forward. Now Troas was where the famous battle around the ancient city of Troy happened. It was right on the Aegean Sea. Notice the words here, “passing by Mysia” that means that they did no evangelism there.

Vs. 9 GOD WILL MAKE HIS WILL KNOWN: Folks if God wants to get your attention to direct you in some way He will! If He is guiding He will be providing! Paul was not asleep but had a vision from the Lord of a man from Macedonia standing over him saying that he needed help. Again it would be helpful to see a map of this area but Paul was on the furthest edge of Asia in what is now called Turkey and he received a vision to bring the gospel to Europe and modern day Greece. I love it. Paul and his team would have settled for some cities in Asia and God wanted to give them Europe.

Vs. 10 BE OBEDIENT TO FOLLOW: The word “concluding” means to knit together in the mind. So although Paul did not yet know all the details, what he did get was that the “help” the man from Macedonia needed was the gospel of grace and that the time to go was now. It is interesting that we have a change in Luke’s narrative as in verse 8 it was “they” and now in verse 10 it is “we”. So suppose that the man from Macedonia was none other than Luke himself. But it would be hard to prove that. What is certain is that Luke seems to join the team at this point.

Vs.  11-18 A purple heart, the medal of grace

Vs. 11-12 Paul and team set sail for Europe and the Greek coast making it in two days, which on his third missionary journey it will take 5 days going the other way. I got to tell you I like that about God. I mean they had a hard time knowing which way God wanted them to go but when He finally showed them and they responded in obedience it was a straight shot. Sometimes we need that assurance in a new venture don’t we?

         Well they landed at Neapolis, which means “new city” in Greek and was the seaport for Philippi ten miles away. Now Philippi was an important city and it had gotten its name from the father of Alexander the Great who named it after himself. Its claim to fame and the reason why it maintained an important status to the Romans was from the battle in 42 B.C. when civil war broke out in the Roman empire between Mark Anthony and Augustus as they defeated Brutus and Cassius right outside the city. After the war many army veterans settled there and the city was designated a Roman colony.

Because of its location to the sea and trade routes as well as gold mines it was a bustling community. It also was famous for a school of medicine whose graduates were sought after all over the world. Perhaps Luke was a graduate of the school and that is why he calls it the “foremost city”, when geographically it was not. Luke is going on to describe three conversions in this chapter all of them at Philippi: Lydia, slave girl and the Philippian jailer.

Vs. 13-15 We know that it took 10 males to form a synagogue and according to Jewish law if there were not ten males then they were to meet by the closest river. So Paul and the team head out to the Gangites river which is just outside of town. It appears that there were no men there at all, only women in prayer. Is that not great, Paul received a vision from a man from Macedonia and when he gets there it is not a man that he preaches to but instead a few ladies. Folks it is good to learn to be flexible to the leading of the Holy Spirit for often how you expect things to go in your head is not how you will find them.

         Lydia we are told was a business woman involved in the selling of purple dye from Thyatira which was in Asia near Ephesus. Thyatira’s former name was Lydian so perhaps this was nothing more than a nickname. Purple cloth was extremely expensive and only the wealthy could purchase it. She was a follower of God in the sense that she practiced Judaism. Now look at what Luke has to say about her conversion, “The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.” Paul did not save her. No, the Lord opened up her heart.

 You see salvation does not depend upon a slick message or any of the other stuff you so often see in the Church today. I mean wow, Paul was used and this gal got saved without “PowerPoint”. Then look at what she does, she opens up her home to them to use as a base. Luke adds that “she constrained us”, she sold them on the idea. Is that not great? When a person opens their heart to the Lord they open their home to Him as well. Lydia had quite a day by the river as she was clothed in the royalty of Christ and He came into her home for good.

Acts 16:16-40

“A concert in incarceration”

Vs. 16-18 A message for a medium

Vs. 19-34 Praise from prisoners

Vs.  35-40 Prisoners for protection

Intro.

In Chapter 15 we were looking at the three-recorded conversions at the hands of Paul’s missionary team of Silas, Timothy, Luke and himself. You could not have gotten a more diverse group if you tried. Now what this shows us is how the Word of God answers the needs of every heart no matter who you are.

• Lydia: Was from Thyatira, in Asia Minor. She was no doubt a wealthy woman as her house was large enough to house the Church. Paul’s appeal to her was on an intellectual level as she had already come to see the truth of Judaism.

• Slave girl: She most likely was a Greek but was from the opposite end of the social spectrum, a female slave that had nothing, and this gal did not even have her sanity. Paul appeals to her based upon her psychological need.

• Jailer: He was probably a former Roman soldier, he would have belonged to the middle class. Based upon his question of what he must do to be saved Paul appeals to him on moral grounds.

Perhaps you were wondering how such a diverse group got along after their conversions? Well you could read the book of Philippians and see what they were like 11 years later than this story before us in Acts 16. Paul would leave Luke there in Philippi as the rest of the team left and would again stop by for a visit on his third missionary trip in Acts 20.

So that by the time Paul writes this letter to the Philippians they had grown large enough to have elders and deacons as well as a missionary. You see they sent a fellow named Epaphroditus (handsome) to minister to him with a love offering. Old handsome got sick and almost died so Paul sent him back with this letter to encourage them. Paul writes in the 2nd chapter four things that enabled them to work together as a team. Paul says, “fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”

• Like-minded: Same goals

• Same love: Same passion

• One accord: Same purpose

• One mind: Same attitude   

Paul could write those things to this Church because they were part of his life. You see who was in control of his life was settled, as he would also say in Philippians, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” As we go through the text before us here you will see that illustrated.

Vs. 16-18 A message for a medium

Vs. 16 Luke gives us two important details about this slave girl.

She was “possessed with a spirit of divination”: Literally the Greek says, “a spirit of a python” In Greek mythology Python was the name given to the serpent that kept guard at Delphi, one of the two temples dedicated to Apollos. At this temple it was believed, according to Greek mythology, that Apollos was somehow embodied in the snake and inspired prophecy. So folks would seek to consult Apollos by putting questions to the priests who would then come back with vague answers in which the voices of the female priests would change as they gave the answers, sort of like a ventriloquist. Now it is interesting to me that this all centered on a possessed serpent embodying humans.

She “brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling.”: The Greek as well as the Romans put a great amount of importance on foretelling the future. No commander would set out on a campaign or businessman start out on a new venture without first consulting with a person who they thought was clairvoyant. Because she was a slave she was making her owners quite wealthy. Now again I can’t help but think of all the 1 800 STUPID phone numbers today as people flip over cards and the like. At best they are accurate and are doing so because of demonic influence or at worse are con-artists out to bilk folks out of money. So the picture of this young slave girl’s situation was pretty horrible. She was being pimped by her owners who exploited her condition for their own benefit.  

Vs. 17 So she started following Paul and the team around. The word “cried out” means to scream or shriek at the top of the voice. Furthermore the Greek says she kept on doing this as she followed them around. Now Luke has recorded for us what she kept on screaming as she followed them:

“These men are the servants of the Most High God”: She was saying that the missionary team were servants of choice to the “Most High God” a term that meant one thing to believers another to non-believers. To Jews it meant the God of the Bible but to the Greeks and Gentiles it meant that they served Zeus. So? Well here we see one of the many tactics of cults, “confuse terms”. Most cults use the same words but they have different meanings then the way we interpret them. So the folks that knock at your door will say the same words and you will think that they mean to them the same thing that it does to you.    

“who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”: In the Greek there is no article here so literally it is that she said that they were proclaiming “A” way of salvation. Salvation was a popular topic and meant different things to different people. To the Jews it would mean deliverance from sin but to the Gentile it would have meant release from the powers that govern the fate of man. So here we see another tactic of cults “confuse how a person is saved”. Notice as well that it was confused two ways:

It was “A” way. Often the cults will broaden the basis for salvation while giving their particular way a higher status. (J.W’s no hell so all are going to make it. Mormon’s different stages of heaven.)

Again through confusing terms salvation comes to mean different things.

Vs. 18 She kept this up for several days until Paul literally became grieved and annoyed. He was grieved over the slave girl’s condition and annoyed at the enemy who had ripped her off. So Paul turned and spoke directly at the spirit that possessed her and in Jesus’ authority commanded it to come out of her and instantly it did. Now Luke does not tell us that she was converted but it is implied by the fact that the spirit did not come back.

         Folks God does not need any help from the enemy as far as attracting the world to Christ. Just as Jesus had commanded that the demons keep silent so to Paul. Notice how subtle the enemy is as he used biblical terms and spoke some truth even if it did mean something different to those who did not know God. Whenever the world is joined with the Church all that can happen is compromise in which the truth that the Church wishes to proclaim becomes confused. 

Vs. 19-34 Praise from prisoners

Vs. 19-20 Not only was the demonic spirit gone so was the profit that they had gained from her. They bring them to the town square where the ruling authorities were. Notice that out of the four missionaries they only grab Paul and Silas. It appears that two things motivated this attack by the slave girl’s owners:

Vs. 19 “They saw that the hope of their profit was gone”: The loss of money. It never ceases to amaze me what people will do for money. We have been overwhelmed with reality based T.V. programs where people do all sorts of things for money. Well did Paul say to Timothy, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”

Vs. 20, 21 “These men, being Jews,… us, being Romans.”: Racial bigotry. The Roman Emperor Claudius had just issued an order expelling all Jews from Rome, this is why only the Jew’s Paul and Silas were taken and not The half Jew Timothy and Gentile Dr. Luke.

Vs. 21-23a Officially a Roman citizen could not practice any foreign religion that was not sanctioned by them but they allowed it as long as it did not break any other law. These folks carefully concealed the real reason, which was economic, and instead made it a charge against what they proclaimed and who they were. Once the crowd was behind them the beating was on and unlike the Jews who had a set amount of strikes that could be administered the Romans did not. This is no doubt one of the three beatings that Paul mentions in 2 Cor. 11:23-25. The “rod” was actually a bundle of sticks tied together and Luke says that many stripes were laid upon them.

Vs. 23b-24 They are placed in the inner most part of the prison and placed in the stocks which was a wooden device that held the legs apart in kind of like the splits and chained them to the walls of the prison. Man this has been a bad day don’t you think? I mean here are our two missionaries following the Lord’s call to go to Philippi and all. They free up a demon possessed girl only to find themselves illegally beaten and imprisoned.

Vs. 25-26 So what do you think these guys would be doing? Now if it was me I probably would be really bummed, or even mad but instead of cursing men or blaming God they praise Him. Now Luke tells us that it was midnight and instead of the normal groans in the pitch-black cell there was a worship service!

         Folks, how radical is this? Here are these two fellows who are beaten severely, bloodied and dirty in a dark, cold and damp cell. Their legs are spread apart so that they can not have any comfort as they are forced to stand. And what comes out of their mouths is not cursing or pity but praise to God. Now I want you to think of this and make it personal. What does it take for you to stop praising God? What will it take to rob you of joy? Do you find that the only time you can praise God is during pleasant circumstances? Hey, family of God, anyone can be happy when things are going your way but joy, true joy can only come from keeping your eyes on the author and finisher of our faith. I have a sign on my wall to remind me of this and it goes like this, “God does not create JOY by new surroundings, He creates new surroundings by JOY!” 

Did you get that? So what was their secret? Well it’s simple! They just looked at the Lord and not their circumstances. Simply put they used what they knew to be true about God to interpret the circumstance. “Well, God you have placed us here and we know that you love us so much that you sent your only Son to die for us, so you’re in perfect control.” Don’t miss this saints because if you do you will be robbing yourself of a great blessing, “Praising God does not have anything to do with circumstances, it has only and everything to do with relationship.” Paul would say, “Rejoice always!” Why? Because as Paul would say in Heb. 13:5-6 “be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

         Let me just challenge you, next time you are having a horrible day to start singing a praise song to the Lord.

Vs. 26 Now the cool thing here is that you never know who might join you in the chorus. In Job 37:5 he says, “God thundered marvelously with His voice.” Now what happens when it thunders? Well the earth shakes! So God joins Paul and Silas in the praise which sets them free! Hey, I find that to be true, how about you? Now verse 25 tells us that the other prisoners were listening to the concert that night. Man, is that cool or what? Folks, it’s not the circumstances we live in that touch the hearts of those who don’t know Jesus, it’s how we go through them that reveals who we trust in! So much of what the world sees of us Christians is that we only rejoice what we get what we want, but when they see you and I rejoicing because of who we know then they will have the same reaction as the jailer.

         Let me put it this way, “People of the world are always watching to see what will SHAKE us up and when the things that normally wipe them out cause us to sing to the Lord it shakes them up!” Now this gives me great hope as it should you. For you see it means that we don’t have to have it all together to be effective, in fact what makes the world want to know about our God is when everything is against us and we are still singing.

Vs. 27-28 Now the jailer who cared nothing for them when he placed them in the stocks, now faces a crisis himself. Under Roman law if any prisoner escaped no matter what the circumstances the guard had to take his punishment upon himself. So facing the thought of all those prisoners escaping the jailer just decides to do himself in. Now Paul sees this and uses this as an opportunity to minister grace towards the one who denied their freedom.

Vs. 29-32 Now upon hearing that all were still in prison the jailer gets a light so that he could come into the inner most part of the prison. This very jailer who had not cared for them hours before now has been awakened as light has come upon his heart. In terror he falls down at the very feet he had placed in stocks to hold them securely. Man how wild must this have been for the rest of the prisoners to see this scene. So the jailer brings them out into the courtyard to ask them the most important question any human soul could ever ask, “What must I do to be saved?”

 Paul gives the simple two-fold answer:

First, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ”: That is you need to answer the question as to how you can be saved with the answer of WHO it is that saves! Many can claim to save but only One can, that is “The God who saves, who was sent to do so!”  That is what Jesus said in speaking to Zacchaeus concerning his salvation “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Next, “and you will be saved”: The second part of this answers the “how” a person can be saved with the answer of WHAT. Trust in what Jesus did! Now some have thought that the jailer’s house was saved based upon his decision for Christ but the next verse Luke explains what he meant by this remark. The same way that the jailer was saved so would his household be saved by trusting in the person and work of Christ.

Vs. 33-34 Now this is pretty cool we are told that the jailer washed their stripes and then he and his family were baptized. They were no doubt washed in the same pool as were Paul and Silas. So by washing them of their wounds he was showing all that he was washed from his sins. 

Now in this section we can see four signs of true salvation in the actions of the jailer:

TRUE LOVE “He took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes.”: The first sign that he had really encountered true love was the manifestation of that same love towards others.

TRUE OBEDIENCE “immediately he and all his family were baptized.”: They publicly identify themselves with a Jewish peasant in Christ,. People watched them get placed under in the same water and by the same two that he had just cleansed. What an act of obedience!

TRUE SERVICE “he had brought them into his house, he set food before them”: He was not just getting his salvation insurance, no he was called to serve and only a few minutes old he is already doing so. Folk’s if you have been a Christian for years and have never served in ministry what’s going on?

TRUE JOY “he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.”: He had no doubt heard of Paul and Silas praising God now he and his family are rejoicing for the same reasons.           

Vs.  35-40 Prisoners for protection

Vs. 35-39 Now this is a funny scene because the next day as the magistrates decided that a severe beating and a night in the stocks was enough, they came to release them. But Paul and Silas have none of it. Why? Well because they realize that if they let them get away with treating them that way it will go hard on these young Christians. So they tell them that what they had done had been illegal under Roman law. This was no small thing as it could have cost the magistrates their jobs and the city its status as a Roman colony.

         Now look at how crazy this must have appeared as these two missionaries under unfair treatment severely beaten first are heard praising God, an earthquake happens that could have set them free and instead the jailer gets set free and publicly identifies with this Jesus whom they had been proclaiming. Now when they say they are free to go they tell them no way, not until you come and get us out! Man I don’t think the world knows what to do with this kind of Christianity do you? So the leaders of the city come and beg the two they had just beaten to leave the city.

Vs. 40 Now Paul was not just an evangelist, he went back to this newborn church with at least these three converts and made sure that he encouraged them. Now I’ve got to tell you, seeing Paul there in front of the three folks he had just led to the Lord must have been incredible.

         There is a real sense in all of our lives that we are never so close to the Lord as we are the moment we have first meant Him and the rest of the time we are trying to keep that relationship going. They had witnessed in Paul the secret of their newfound relationship, “It’s all about Jesus!” When we come to Christ as Paul would later write, “old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”