Acts 16:16-40

Good morning. Open up your Bibles to Acts chapter 16.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

So I appreciate your prayers.

As most of you know, I have some pretty serious respiratory problems,

! and I am pretty short of breath this morning for various reasons.

So I'm going to obey a really good rule of preaching,

which is for the preacher to take comfort in the message that he's about to say.

So what I'm about to say from God's Word is even kind of what's encouraging me and sustaining me right now.

But I'm also going to disobey another preaching rule, which is read the whole text before you start.

But because this is a long text, I'm going to save myself the breath and just sort of walk through it with you.

A lot of Reformed pastors are like, no, read the text first.

But I'm just going to just walk through it with you, scene by scene, step by step.

Because it's a narrative, and because it is a narrative, it's pretty easy to do that.

So just join me in a word of prayer together.

Father, we gather together this morning only for you.

And I pray that if our hearts are divided, thinking about other things,

that you would convict us of that and bring us to a right understanding of yourself and the gathering of your people.

Just give us eyes to see, ears to hear this morning.

And I pray that you would have your way.

And Christ would be seen.

In his name, amen.

So we're in Acts chapter 16.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

And Nathan did a really good introduction to last week about going,

Paul and some other of the apostles going into Europe and kind of landing in Macedonia.

So I'm going to try my best not to go over to some of the same ground.

But those of you who know me know I can't resist sometimes because there's so much awesome history in all of this.

But I just have this picture, you know, like of Paul and Silas and some of the other apostles just sailing over,

you know, in a boat, like ready to invade Europe with the gospel, sailing across the Aegean Sea.

In the Aegean Sea, you've seen a ton of invasions.

The Greek invasion of Troy, the Persian invasion of Greece, the Roman invasion of Carthage.

All happened like right there.

Now, this is like the greatest of them all.

Now, this is Christ sending his people to invade like the pagan land of Europe.

I just love it.

So it's this idea of our Jesus, the Jesus that we love kind of clashing into the world of Greek mythology and Rome

and just ready to take it down.

So I love that.

Just a picture of him invading Europe, not with natural weapons,

but really the weapons of prayer, the gospel, the word of God, sacrificial love is what his weapons are invading this.

And why is this a big deal?

So I'll tell you, for not all of us in here, but for most of us,

I would dare to say that most of us come from a European descent.

Most of our ancestors were from Europe in some way or another.

Not all.

But I want you to see this as grace.

Why?

You ever stop and ask yourself, why didn't the gospel not go east instead of west?

And this means that, like, the people that most of us descend from heard the gospel, our ancestors.

And then ever since then, a lot of the time, it's been moving west.

It came from Europe to America to South America.

Now it's wheeling back around and hitting Asia again.

But God and his providence for some reason chose to comport the gospel message through Greco-Roman culture.

And at this time, the Roman Empire was in three, arguably four continents at the time, including Africa, Asia, and Europe.

And now Paul taking the gospel to Europe.

And as Nathan mentioned last week, it kind of started in Philippi, a Roman colony in the heart of Macedonia.

And as he said last week, and again, I'll spare you all this, it was Philip of Macedon II, Alexander the Great's father,

who the city was named after.

And it was very much about as Roman as you can get.

In Philippi had an amphitheater, a forum, an acropolis, which is like a fortified hill, an agora, a marketplace.

So it was like a very picturesque.

They called it the Little Rome.

So it looked very much like that.

And settled by a lot of soldiers that had been discharged from service after the battle from Octavian or Caesar Augustus against, you know, Anthony and his baby cakes, Cleopatra.

After that, like a lot of them, went and lived in Philippi.

So there was a lot of strong Roman people in this area.

And as he said last week, there probably wasn't enough Jews there to actually even form a synagogue.

So that's why we saw them going to the river to pray and to gather.

And through his mercy, God saved Lydia and some others that were there with her.

And so this is a great setup.

So they just kind of stay there and they're kind of continuing their ministry in Philippi.

And this is where we'll get into our text.

Just join me and look at verse 16.

Excuse me.

So, sorry.

We're going to break this up in like three different scenes, if you would, of a story.

But scene one is we're going to see in verse 16 through 24.

Scene one is the predicament.

There's so many predicaments that we face.

So this is the predicament, 16 through 24.

It says,

And she kept doing this for many days.

Paul, having become greatly annoyed, that's my favorite Bible word, by the way,

hacked off, perturbed, turned around and said to the spirit, so not the girl, the spirit,

and said,

I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.

And it came out that very hour.

So great news, right?

I mean, like deliverance.

An amazing thing.

Nope.

Bad news for Paul and Silas.

But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone,

they seized Paul and Silas,

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 Romans,

as Romans to accept our practice.

The crowd joined in the attack,

in attacking them.

Excuse me.

And the magistrates tore their garments off of them,

and gave them orders to be beaten with rods.

And when they had inflicted many blows upon them,

they threw them into the prison,

ordering the jailer to keep them safely.

Having received this order,

he put them in the inner prison,

and fastened their feet in the stocks.

So, you have Paul and Silas just sort of going about their daily routine.

They're there to love.

They're there to serve.

They're there to deliver the gospel message in a peaceful manner.

They're there with God's direction.

God sent them there, if you remember that.

He sent them to this area.

They're there with His authority,

His power.

They mean no harm, only good.

And they're on their way.

You know, they just get up in the morning,

on their way over to the river,

to spend some time in prayer together.

You know, birds chirping, sun shining.

You know, a great, great morning to be alive.

And on the way, they meet this slave girl,

who was possessed by a demon, more likely.

And this slave girl,

the word for divination here,

is the word python.

And so, it was a picture of,

you ever heard of the, in Greek mythology,

the oracle, the Delphic oracle,

where a lot of the Greek kings and Greek generals

would send their people to find out

they were going to have victory or defeat in battle.

So, she was from this area.

And python really was the name of this dragon

or serpent that guarded the Delphi oracle.

And, at least in Greek mythology,

the god Apollo had come and slain this dragon

or slain this snake.

And now he spoke through the Delphi oracle.

So, it was seen as a,

she had a spirit of prophecy.

But make no mistake,

this is a deep, dark,

ancient, pagan, demonic practice

that she was involved with.

It's this idea of soothsaying,

fortune-telling.

I want you to know, guys,

that stuff's real, okay?

It's real, but it's not of the Lord at all.

This girl had this deep history.

And she was the new age lady ahead of her time.

She would have a 1-800 number today.

So, you should know, though,

if you're curious,

God's people have been forbidden

to deal with that kind of stuff.

Deuteronomy 18, verse 10,

Deuteronomy 18:10

1 Samuel 28, 8.

Yet, know that she has this real,

deep, dark, spiritual connection.

And that spirit in her

recognizes that these are servants of the light.

They weren't going around and saying this.

They weren't wearing Christian t-shirts

saying we're the apostles and we're here.

This spirit recognized who they were.

She had this spiritual connection.

These men are servants of the Most High God

who proclaim to you the way of salvation.

Isn't that awesome?

That dark, demonic spirit in her saw that

and was saying that?

She's like,

If you think I'm awesome

and my spiritual connections are great,

don't.

These men have the real answer.

These men have the way of salvation

and they're proclaiming it to you now.

So, this wasn't a really quick,

short introduction.

It says she kept doing this for many days.

So, all day Monday, all day Tuesday,

all day Wednesday, on and on.

And then finally,

it says that Paul became greatly annoyed.

So, hacked off.

He was just like,

Yes, we are servants of the Most High God,

but please just stop with the announcement.

And, kind of turns around

and just says to her,

Like, come out.

Commanded the Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ

to come out.

So, and she was delivered.

So, that's great.

I mean, awesome.

But at least you would think

all these great things are happening.

But then, turns around

and these slave girl's owners,

who've been making money off of her,

seek greedy and brutal vengeance

against Paul and Silas.

So, they were exploiting her.

Using her.

Isn't it interesting?

Stop and think about this.

Isn't it interesting throughout

the book of Acts particularly,

but the Bible in general,

that the desire for money,

success, profit,

always is working against the gospel.

You ever notice that?

Simon the Magician

in chapter 8.

Demetrius the Silversmith

in chapter 19.

Isn't that interesting?

This is another example.

The gospel is hurting their means

of making a lot of money

in a sinful manner.

So, they seek this vengeance on them.

It says they drag them

into the marketplace

before the rulers

and before the magistrates.

So, in Roman law,

like magistrates are put there

to carry out civil authority.

They were kind of like

the arm of Caesar

in the Roman provinces.

And there was two usually

assigned to each province

at this time

in the first century A.D.

And they,

these men lied.

They lied.

They bore false witness

against Paul and Silas.

They said,

these Jews

are disturbing us.

That word disturbing

means to cause an uproar,

like to cause exceedingly

great trouble, chaos.

Is that what they're really doing?

Not at all.

And they're advocating customs,

not lawful for us Romans

to accept.

So, understand that

in some degree,

Jews had kind of

already gained a reputation,

at least in the Roman Empire,

for people who don't want

to submit to the law of Caesar,

the rule of Caesar.

Not long after this,

Emperor Claudius,

he expelled all the Jews

from Rome.

That's in history books.

It's actually interesting

that soon in Acts,

like you actually see

that Luke says

that same thing.

Priscilla and Aquila

were kicked out of Rome

because they were Jews.

And,

basically saying,

these punks

aren't from around here.

They're bringing trouble,

this nonsense,

from Jerusalem.

And they're saying

all this stuff

against Rome.

And really,

that's not what they're doing

at all.

So then this unruly crowd

kind of joins in,

like, yeah,

like they're here

disturbing us.

And they kind of

join in the attack.

You ever just try

to go the extra mile

to love somebody

and to, like,

really sacrifice yourself

for their well-being,

then all of a sudden

they're, like,

coming at you with knives

and hating you?

So it doesn't stop there.

This fake trial

results in severe punishment.

So,

you ever thought about this?

I think about

Christ

and some of the other

apostles that we see

going through this kind of,

we tend to overlook this.

Do you know how intimidating

like an angry crowd

can be when they're

coming at you,

stripping you down,

yelling at you,

beating you down?

It's a scary,

traumatizing thing.

That's,

don't overlook that.

So they had that happen.

But then they were

beaten with rods.

What is that about?

So throughout

the Roman Empire,

magistrates

were followed around

by these little attendants

who carried these

bundles of sticks.

And

to kind of

serve as a

picture of their

authority from Rome.

And they would

beat people

with them.

So they were,

they took the wooden rods

and inflicted

not just

a couple,

a brief spanking,

but like

severe blows.

Inflicted many blows

upon Paul and Silas.

So it couldn't get worse,

right?

But it did.

After that,

they threw them

into the prison

and ordered the jailer

to keep them safely.

Put them in the

inner prison,

so not just

the nice,

you know,

prison with bed

and breakfast.

They're like the

inner dungeon,

the dark,

cold,

wet,

damp place

where the rats are.

and fastened

them in the

stocks.

So very

uncomfortable,

painful.

So wow,

like some swift,

harsh

justice,

but a

travesty of

justice,

injustice.

So,

think about this

later on,

like Paul says

in 1 Thessalonians,

we were shamefully

treated

in Philippi.

So imagine

just sitting there

in the stocks

and in the cold,

the dark dungeon,

just kind of

the shock

wearing off a little bit

and just sort of

sitting there

dealing with that.

So in their place

right now,

what would you be

thinking?

What would be

crossing your mind?

How are you

processing that

sitting there

in that dungeon?

Many of us

will be saying,

why,

oh Lord?

God,

can we just

kind of step back

and review the day?

Like we came here

with the best

of intentions

to love people,

to serve them,

to give them the gospel,

to lay our lives down.

You know,

you used us

to bring salvation

to Lydia

and her household.

You used us

to deliver

to a slave girl

from demonic oppression.

Now we don't even

have anything

but the clothes

on our backs.

And now that's

been taken

even away from us.

In case you

haven't noticed,

things down here

have gotten

really,

really rough.

So where are you?

What is going on?

We are here

on your behalf.

What is happening?

We've been falsely

accused.

We've been arrested.

We've been beaten

with our eyes.

Thrown into the dungeon.

Now we're cold

and naked

and lonely.

Why is this happening?

Ever been there?

So suddenly,

this great God

that we sing about

and that we proclaim

isn't so great anymore.

We've shrunk him down

to almost a little God

and we put him

across the table

and we say,

you owe me

an explanation

and this isn't right

and you need to fix it.

But arrogantly,

we seek to bring him

down on our level.

Not many places

to turn today,

but keep your hand

there in Acts.

Turn to Psalm 44.

Psalm 44.

And so I want you

to know

that

when you're going

through

suffering,

when you're going

through

difficult times

that you don't

understand,

I want you to know

it's okay

to ask God

why.

Okay?

But also be aware

that

it's really

the spirit

or the manner

in which we ask him

why.

Alright?

So,

this kind of stuff

is all over

in the scripture,

particularly in the Psalms.

But,

even in the Psalms,

you see

this

unshakable confidence

that even though

I don't understand

and I'm asking you

why,

I recognize

that you are still there

even though

I can't feel you there.

And I'm putting

my trust in you.

So it's a humble asking,

not an arrogant,

angry,

bitter asking.

So Psalm 44.

Look down at verse

14

and just picture

Paul and Silas.

Picture

your life.

So you have made us

a byword

among the nations,

a laughing stock

among the peoples.

all the day long

and shame

and shame

has covered my face

at the sound

of the taunter

and the reviler,

at the sight

of the enemy

and the avenger.

all of this

has come upon us

though we

have not forgotten

you

and we have not

been false

to your covenant.

Our hearts

have not turned

back

nor have our

steps departed

from your way.

So they're saying

like we've

trusted you,

we've followed you,

we're here,

we haven't left

yet you have

broken us

in the place

of jackals

and covered us

with the shadow

of death.

Jump ahead

to verse 23.

Awake.

Why are you

sleeping,

O Lord?

Browse yourself.

Do not reject

us forever.

Why do you

hide your face?

Why do you

forget our

affliction

and oppression?

For our soul

is bowed down

in the dust.

Our belly

clings to the ground.

So here it is.

Rise up,

come to our help,

redeem us

for the sake

of your

steadfast love.

So even though

they don't understand,

they're asking why,

at the very end

they say,

redeem us

for the sake

of your

steadfast love.

Rise up

and come

and help us.

So,

we've all been there,

some more than others,

and you will

before you breathe

your last.

You'll ask why.

So,

this leads

to the second scene,

number two,

scene two,

the deliverance.

Back in Acts,

back in Acts 16.

You see this

in verse 25

through 34.

So,

about midnight,

Paul and Silas

were praying,

and he's like,

yeah,

I'll be praying too,

like God,

get me out of this,

here's how you're

going to fix it.

They were praying

and singing hymns

to God,

and the prisoners

were listening

to them,

and suddenly

there was a great

earthquake.

Wow,

amazing timing.

So,

the foundation

of the prisons

were shaken,

and immediately

all the doors

were opened,

and everyone's bonds

were unfastened.

And when the jailer

woke and saw

the prison doors

were open,

he drew his sword

and was about

to kill himself,

supposing that

the prisoners

had escaped.

Sorry.

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

with trembling

and 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 shall

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 in the same

hour that night

and washed

their wombs,

and he was

baptized at once,

he and his

family.

Then he brought

them up into

the house

and set food

before them,

and he rejoiced

with his

entire household

that he

believed in

God.

So deliverance,

double meaning

deliverance,

not just Paul

and Silas,

physical

deliverance,

but this

man's and his

family's deliverance

from the

slavery and

death of sin.

So they

praised him

in their

pain,

right?

There's no

guarantee they

were going to

get out of

there.

They pretty

much set

themselves

ready to

die.

They just

went through

all that

oppressive

stuff,

and then about

midnight,

so I almost

just don't

want to

overlook that.

Think about

how Luke

could be

saying about

midnight,

you know,

that dark

hour when

the adrenaline

is worn

off and

you're just

sitting there

dealing with

reality,

you're thinking

over just what

happened.

praying,

probably

getting me

out of

this,

but no,

they were

praying and

singing hymns

to God,

right?

Amid their

suffering,

our brothers,

Paul and

Silas,

experienced this

overwhelming

presence of

the Holy

Spirit in

their lives

with this

great joy

that's

inexpressible.

Remember when

Paul was

writing to the

Philippians many

years later?

Peter, I

wonder if

he even

thought about

this experience

as he wrote

to them.

Can you just

hear him

praying?

It's been a

painful day,

Lord, but we

rejoice in

you, O

!

Lord, because

you are not

far, you are

near, so we

will not be

anxious for

anything, but

in everything.

We will turn to

you in prayer

and rejoice at

all times and be

thankful.

And now your

peace is

flooding our

souls.

Sound familiar?

Philippians 4,

4 through 7.

So, I

believe that

happened and

that just

kind of erupted

into praise.

It erupted

into glory to

God.

And then this

supernatural

earthquake

happened and

their chains

fell off.

So, quick

break and run

for it, right?

Nope.

They stayed

there.

and they

called this

Macedonian

jailer in who

was about to

kill himself

because his

punishment would

have been

death.

So, he

thinks, I'm

in trouble

either way.

I need to

go ahead and

take my life

which had been

seen as an

honorable thing

to do in

that culture

instead of

bearing the

shame.

And they

stop him and

say, wait,

stop.

We're all

here.

Don't harm

yourself.

So, this

proud jailer

came in with

just fear and

trembling, of

course, right?

And he took

them out to

his house and

then he

asked the

question, sir,

what must I

do to be

saved?

Not, well,

become a member

of the church,

be baptized,

and sign a

card, and

you're good for

the rest of

eternity, but

and go get

busy doing

things for

Jesus, but

believe in the

Lord Jesus and

you'll be saved.

God's

strong,

overwhelming,

powerful belief

and faith that

changes how you

live, not just

an acknowledgement,

but a deep

belief in your

heart that

changes how you

live.

And so, he

believed, he

gave his life to

Christ.

The jailer

washed their

wombs.

One of the

early church

fathers said,

the jailer

washed and

was washed.

He washed

them from

their stripes

and was

himself washed

from his

sins.

The whole

family ended

up believing

in the gospel

and they

rejoiced.

This really

is a cool

word that's

actually not

used in other

Greek literature

at all this

time.

It's not

mentioned

anywhere.

So it's

this idea

of deep

spiritual joy.

They

rejoiced.

Wow.

was then

scene three.

Number three,

the outcome,

verse 35

through 40,

the rest of

our story.

But when it

was day,

the magistrates

sent the

police,

that's an

American word,

sent the

police,

the popo,

let those

men go.

And the

jailer reported

these words to

Paul saying,

the magistrates

have sent to

let you go.

So they

actually went

back to the

prison,

right?

They 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 the

prison.

And now

do they

throw us

out secretly?

No.

Let them

come themselves

and take us

out.

And the

police reported

these words

to the

magistrate.

And they

were afraid.

Yeah.

When they

heard that

they were

Roman citizens,

so they

came and

apologized to

them and

took them

out and

asked them

to leave

the city.

So they

went out

of the

prison,

visited

Lydia,

and when

they had

seen the

brothers,

they were

encouraged.

They

encouraged

them and

then

departed.

So the

magistrates

had a chance

to kind of

reflect on

what happened

and they

were in

serious

trouble.

So they

secretly

ordered the

release of

Paul and

Silas.

and why

Paul responded

this way,

we don't

exactly know.

Maybe they

thought,

the magistrates

thought,

they've

suffered

enough,

let's just

let them

go.

But it

seems like

they were

scared when

they found

out they

were Roman

citizens.

And that

terrified them.

So they

were just

like, hey,

just tell

them to

go.

Tell

them no

hard

feelings.

keep

this on

the down

low.

Kind of

go out

the back

door,

please.

We're

cool,

right?

Just that.

But Paul

says, no.

Let them

come

themselves

and walk

us out.

And I

want to

point this

out.

I don't

think this

was because

Paul was

angry and

seeking

vengeance on

them.

I think

he was

really

worried

about how

the church

and

believers

would be

perceived

in the

Roman

world.

He

wanted to

make

sure

that.

They

were

seen as

good

citizens,

as

people

submissive

to the

authorities,

not

troublemakers.

And so

he was

like, no,

you tell

them to

come and

walk us

out so

that everyone

will know

that we

were not

guilty of

the crimes

that we

were accused

of.

But Roman

law could

have permitted

Paul to

really

seriously

bring down

the system

on these

men.

Law during

the first

century protected

them from

punishment,

from

execution,

or even

torture without

trial.

So they

had even

the right

to appeal

to a

higher court

in Rome

itself,

which he

does do

later on.

Paul says

that he

was born

a citizen,

right?

So he

carried this

with him.

He wasn't

just a Jew,

but he was

a Roman

citizen.

So though

many believers,

right,

they didn't

want them to be,

many Jews were

considered as

troublemakers,

he didn't want

that stench

kind of carrying

!

on to the

believers in

the empire.

So that's

why I really

think that he

decided to

just kind of

let it go,

but not let

it go.

So exercise

your rights

as citizens

in America

underneath the

kingdom of

God,

underneath

mercy.

Don't just

say,

it's my

rights,

I'm going

to do it

anyway.

Think about

God's

purposes.

And then we

see the

church was

strengthened,

right?

Of course.

What a heck

of a story

that would

have been.

We're like

chilling at

Lydia's house

and Paul

and Silas

come,

you know,

really looking

rough,

and they

encouraged the

brothers.

And what a

story that

would have

been to

share with

the brothers.

So some

application from

our story.

When life

trials come,

and we're

tempted to

ask,

you know,

like,

why?

Oh,

Lord.

You've got

to remember

that we

are the

most finite,

short-sighted

creatures

imaginable.

We cannot

see tomorrow.

And

very limited

perspective.

And we're

tempted to

believe in

those moments

that God

is not

sovereign and

He's not

good.

Right?

I hope

you follow

my analogy

here.

But life

to us is

like,

most of

you,

some of

you may

know what

a mosaic

is.

It's like

a big

picture that's

made up of

a lot of

different smaller

pictures.

So when you

stand back,

you see

the whole

deal.

And life

is like

that to

us.

We have

these little

snapshots,

these glimpses

in the moment

that don't make

sense.

like, I

don't make any

sense of

what I have

right here

at all.

And in

those difficult

moments where

you have

those snapshots,

you have to

believe that

they do

fit into

God's

bigger picture.

And He's

always doing

that.

He's always

moving and

creating this

beautiful mosaic

that testifies of

His glory and

His grace.

So in moments

of doubt,

remember God's

providence,

that He works

all things,

all things,

after the

counsel of

His will.

Ephesians

1.11.

It says of

Jesus in

Hebrews 1.3,

He upholds the

universe by

the word of

His power.

So this

stuff did not

just happen

when God was

gone or on

vacation.

He ordained

it.

He allowed

it.

And we

always can't

just see it,

but just

remember the

word providence.

If you're

looking for a

good definition,

Puritan

pastor Ezekiel

Hopkins said,

Providence is

an act of

God,

whereby according

to His

eternal and

most wise

counsel,

preserves and

governs all

things,

and directs

them to all

their ends,

but chiefly to

His own

glory.

So know

that life is

not about

you.

It's not.

It's not

about me.

When you

really ponder

who you are

before God,

you will

realize you

have no

rights at

all.

And anything

you have is

only by His

goodness,

only by His

grace.

That keeps

me from

asking why

a lot of

the time,

because I

know I

deserve far

worse than

I have

gotten,

infinitely

worse.

So know

that when

you're living

in that

little picture

that God

is directing

all things

toward their

ends,

but chiefly

to the

glory of

His name.

so some

things,

maybe another

message on

this another

time,

kind of,

we could do

a whole

message on

what are

those things

that God

is always

doing,

no matter

what,

no matter

how,

what your

situation

looks like,

what is He

always doing,

we could have

a whole message

on that,

but just from

our story,

here's one

thing,

God is

always seeking

to receive

praise in

dark places.

Very easy

to praise God

right here,

and seeing

His excellence,

but when we

go through

dark places

and trials,

His supreme

worthiness is

really seen

in those moments

when we praise

Him and we

trust Him,

and we're

saying to

everyone around

us that this

isn't what's

controlling me,

God is

controlling me,

and I want

to show all

creation that

He reigns,

that He's

sovereign in

this moment,

and so when

you see Paul

and Silas

doing that,

they're praying

and seeing

hymns to

God,

who do you

think is

getting the

glory for

that?

Because all

the men,

it says the

men in the

jail were

listening to

them,

like what is

that about

down there?

Crazy.

So often we

look at God

and we want

Him to change

our what?

Our

circumstances,

circumstances,

but what's

cool is God

is often more

focused on

changing us

in the midst

of the

circumstances.

So look to

God when that

stuff happens,

take your eyes

off the

circumstances,

and He

either will

choose to

calm the

circumstances,

or He'll

calm you in

the midst

of the

circumstances,

usually what

He likes to

do.

So as we

praise God,

He changes

us, He

fills our

souls with

hope,

with joy,

with peace.

Just a few

more things

for you.

In those

little

snapshots,

God is

always seeking

to save

the lost

and bring

them to

salvation.

This might

be heavy

for some

of you.

God is

committed

to bring

salvation

to His

people no

matter what

it takes.

And He's

providentially,

He places

His people

in places

of suffering

and death

in order

to call

lost souls

into His

fold.

A Bulgarian

pastor in

1985 was

arrested and

imprisoned by

the communists

for preaching

to his

congregation.

His first

name was

Heristero.

This is

something he

said.

So when

they threw

him in

jail,

this often

happens to

believers.

They're

thrown in

jail and

they become

such a

nuisance

to the

jailers

and the

people in

there because

they continue

preaching the

gospel to

the jailers,

to those who

are holding

them captive

as well as

to the

prisoners.

And he

said this,

both prisoners

and jailers

asked many

questions and

it turned out

that we had

a more fruitful

ministry there

in prison than

we ever could

have had just

inside church

walls.

God was

better served

by our

presence in

prison than

if we had

been free.

I mean,

do we think

that way?

Let's see

what I do

with this

thing.

It's

sitting there

somewhere.

On your

bulletin,

there's a

quote by my

man,

Sinclair,

!

In

relationship to

this,

he said,

God doesn't

exist for

you and

for me.

Hear that.

But rather

God exists to

fulfill his

own glorious

purposes.

It is so

true in

scripture and

in the lives

of the

Christians of

whom we

read in

history that

what we see

God doing

is not just

for their

benefit,

but because

he wanted

to work in

them and

through them

for others.

And that's

what we see

here.

God will

even allow

death to

come to

someone who

belongs to

him if it

means reaching

others for

salvation.

If you think

that sounds

harsh, then

you need to

contemplate the

cross because

he allowed the

one he loved

the most to

go to the

smallest little

picture and

die on the

cross in

order to

bring you

and I

into salvation.

He is

dedicated to

saving his

people in

the hardest

and most

dreadful

places.

Jesus said

this in

John 6

John 6:37

verse 37,

all the

father gives

to me will

come to

me.

Whoever

comes to

me I

will never

cast out

for I

have come

down from

heaven not

to do my

own will but

the will of

him who sent

me.

And there it

is, this is

the will of

him who sent

me that I

should lose

nothing of

all that he

has given

me but

raised it up

on the last

day.

So Jesus

has come to

save his

people and he

will do it.

God is

always seeking

to do

good to

his people.

So God

isn't committed

to what you

want or you

think you

need.

He's committed

to giving you

only what is

good which

means what's

best for

you in

every situation.

So he's

not really as

concerned with

our temporal

joy or

our temporal

blessings.

He's more

focused on

eternity which

makes this

realm look

ridiculous.

And we know

our famous

Romans 8

28, don't

let that

verse become

too familiar

to you.

We know

that for

those who

love God

all things

work together.

That working

together and

just, they

just work

out.

It means

that God