God's Mercy is for All People

Well, good morning everyone. Great to connect with you again this morning and thank you so much

to Jackie and to Jolene. You have basically got the whole message for this morning and just put

in a snapshot for me, which is just brilliant, but it'll be great just to dive a little bit

deeper into Acts 16 and what the implications might mean for us. It was about three decades

ago now. I was sitting in the church office in a country church when I responded to a knock at the

door. I opened the door and there standing before me was a man who was intoxicated. He was in fact

quite messed up. He slept the night down by the river. His face was covered in dry blood from a

fight that he had had through the course of the evening with others sleeping down there.

And he knocked on the door because he wanted a sandwich and a cup of tea. I sat down, I got

to the food and I sat down beside him while he ate his sandwich and he drank his tea and we talked

and he recalled how his life was a mess up from all sorts of different reasons, but he wasn't looking

to change. He wasn't looking really for a conversation. He just wanted the food and to be gone.

His life was a mess, but he was on one level content with where it was at that point.

Now, as I talk with him, I had this thought in my mind that even to this day that I'm ashamed of,

and that is the thought that I cannot imagine this man being in church. The thought that if I started to

speak to him about a greater hope right now in Jesus Christ, he just wouldn't get it. He wouldn't

understand it. I just thought this man was not the Christian type. I'm ashamed to say. My sinful

prejudices were in full swing on that day and in that moment. So what do you think the Christian type is?

What sort of people are Christians in your mind? What sort of people get drawn into the Christian faith?

Well, we're up to Acts chapter 16, as you have just heard, and we see here in this chapter that in fact

Acts 16 · chapter mention

God's mercy is for all people. That is, there is no Christian type. So get your Bibles, open up to Acts 16,

the St. Paul's app if you've got it. Open that up. You'll see I've got some points there to get

through. It's Acts 16, and we're ready to go. So first of all, God's mercy is to three people in Acts 16.

The first person we're introduced to is Lydia in verses 11 to 15. There are a few things that we know

about Lydia straight up. She is from the city of Thyatira, which was part of Asia Minor in those

days, and we know that she's a businesswoman. She is a dealer in purple cloth. Now, cloth, which was

dyed purple and then from there turned into clothes and other items, was very expensive. The whole process

was very, very detailed. It was expensive cloth, and it was really only the wealthy people, the rich

people who could afford it. Purple cloth was therefore in their culture a sign of wealth. You wear

something purple, you are a wealthy individual. It's the sort of thing that the royalty bought and the

the elite in society purchased. Lydia, therefore, is a person who sold beautiful clothes to beautifully

rich people. Lydia is the equivalent, if you like, in our day of the owner of a chain of high-end

boutiques in ritzy suburbs of cities. She was also, we are told here, a worship of God. Now, that's a

technical term in the New Testament, which means that she is a God-fearer. Now, these God-fearers were

Gentiles who had left behind their other religious practices and their paganism, and they started

reading the Jewish Bible, the Old Testament, and starting to seek the Bible, the God of the Old

Testament. And so Lydia is, therefore, an admirable person, a decent person, a pious, and a successful

person. So how does God's mercy come to her? Have a look at verse 13 with me.

On the Sabbath, we went outside the city gates to the river where we expected to find a place of

prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. So the setting here

is a low-key discussion. It's not a church service. Paul is not preaching, but the key is at the end of

verse 14. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. Now, the word respond there means

she is attracted to. The Lord opened her heart to be attracted to Paul's message. Lydia, that is,

didn't just believe. She didn't have an intellectual assent to what Paul said, but she found what Paul said

to be wonderful, to be beautiful. We also know broadly the content of what Paul was saying to

this group of women, because back in verse 10, Luke tells us what their task was. After Paul had seen the

vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the

gospel to them. So what Lydia was attracted to is the core, the central message of the Christian faith.

The gospel, the good news is that Jesus Christ, the eternal son of God, came into the world that he had

made, died for our sins and turned God's judgment away from us. But this Jesus rose again on the third

day, eternally triumphant over evil, so that there is now no condemnation for those who put their trust

in him, but only the prospect of everlasting eternal joy in his presence. And so Lydia wasn't just

convinced that that message was true, but she saw it as beautiful. She was attracted to it. It was

wonderful to her. Jesus, in fact, it was wonderful to her. God had opened her heart in such a way that Jesus

looked magnificent. This is a woman whose business was beauty. She sold beautiful clothes to beautiful people,

beautiful people, and she had never seen a beauty like this before. Jesus, Jesus was magnificent.

Jesus gave her life, and she gave her life to Jesus.

And then we move into verse 16, and we see another recipient of God's mercy. It's verse 16.

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl, a female slave, who had a

spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune

telling. Now, we know a lot about this person. Firstly, she is young. It says female slave, but the word

used in the original language means that she is young, a young slave. She's a girl is who she is. She's a kid.

Her parents must have sold her. She's been rejected by her family. She's enslaved and oppressed

and economically exploited by her owners. But she's also enslaved with inner demons too.

We know from the original language that she had what was called the spirit of the python.

Now, that doesn't mean much to us, but the ancient reader knew exactly what that meant.

It means that this girl belonged to a group of people that were odd, very odd.

They spoke loudly. They acted weirdly. They cried out. They shrieked. They spoke in different voices.

This young girl would all of a sudden speak with a voice of a mature man. They were very troubled,

very broken people, and they were isolating society. And yet, on so many occasions, what they predicted

about the future actually came true. And so people were, at the same time, intrigued by them.

And so if Lydia is an owner of a high-end boutique for the rich, this girl is a drunk, addicted prostitute,

exploited by her pimps, living in a seedy suburb of the city, but also able to predict the future.

Repulsive, and yet in some level, we're attracted to her.

How did God's mercy come to her? Verse 17.

She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting,

These men are servants of the Most High God who are telling you the way to be saved.

And she kept this up for many days.

Now notice that she knows exactly who Paul and his team were,

and nobody else knows who Paul and the team are.

She knew who they were and that they were coming to tell them the gospel.

She knew that they were coming to tell them the way to be saved.

She was impeccably accurate, even though the source of that accuracy was, in fact, evil.

And then we read this in verse 18.

Finally, Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the Spirit,

Now, the Apostle Paul here looks really impatient and really unloving with this girl.

That's because he is.

That is, you know, he's not Jesus after all.

We know that.

But it also shows us that this little encounter is not a made-up encounter.

This is not the way that you would write a legend.

You would write it this way.

If it was a legend, you'd say,

Paul, deeply moved by compassion,

turned and looked on the girl with mercy,

and said,

You poor, troubled soul.

But that's how you'd write legend.

But that's not what's happening here.

Paul got irritated.

He was fed up.

And he said,

In the name of Jesus Christ,

I command you to come out of her.

And at that moment,

the Spirit left her.

So Lydia gets a Bible study down by the river.

This girl gets a power encounter.

Lydia needed to see that Jesus is more beautiful and magnificent and fulfilling

than her money and her purple clothes.

This girl needs a new master.

She needs a new lord.

A new boss over her life.

And she gets that.

The third person we encounter here

is a Roman jailer.

Now this person comes on the scene

because the owners of the slave girl

are pretty ticked off

by the income loss

that Paul has now

inflicted upon them

by healing the slave girl.

Paul and Silas

are handed over to local magistrates

who order them to be beaten

without a trial.

And then in verse 23,

we read this.

They were thrown into prison

and the jailer was commanded

to guard them carefully.

When he received these orders,

he put them in the inner cell

and fastened their feet to the stocks.

So what do we know about him?

The first thing we know

is that he's a jailer.

And that means that he is most likely

an ex-Roman soldier.

When the ranking soldiers retired,

they generally moved

into civil service roles.

He was what we would call

in our society

nowadays working class.

His home is comfortable,

but his home is,

how do I put this,

a long way from the harbour.

We can also see

that he was a brutal guy.

Verse 23,

he is commanded

by the magistrates

to guard Paul and Silas carefully.

In verse 24,

he says,

he put them in the inner cell

and fastened their feet

to the stocks.

That is,

he didn't wash their wounds,

he didn't bandage them up,

he didn't do anything

that you would consider

carefully looking after them.

He didn't do anything for them.

He was asked

to watch them closely.

Instead,

he put them

into the deepest dungeon,

away from the light,

away from the air.

And he also puts them

in the stocks.

The stocks,

spread your limbs out

past what was considered normal.

It induced

incredibly painful

muscle cramps.

It was unnecessarily cruel.

It was a form of torture.

This is a guy

who Paul

just frankly

could not sit down with

like he did with Lydia

and talk with

about the gospel.

He had to show

the good news

of Jesus Christ

in his life.

And so this jailer

notices two things

in the lives

of Paul and Silas.

He sees

in the face

of suffering

a peace

and a joy

and in the face

of cruelty

a kindness

and a forgiveness.

Verse 25.

About midnight,

Paul and Silas

were praying

and singing hymns

to God

and the other prisoners

were listening to them.

They were listening.

The word actually means

they were fascinated,

amazed by Paul and Silas.

Now this is a culture

where if you are in grief,

you wail.

If you are angry,

you curse.

That is,

you express

the inner emotions

in very verbal,

verbose ways.

And here we have

Paul and Silas

expressing peace

and joy

in quite tangible ways.

They were singing

praises to God

rather than cursing.

And the jailer

would have either

heard it,

he certainly

would have experienced it.

The joy

and the peace.

But the jailer

also experienced

a kindness

and a forgiveness.

Have a look

in verse 26.

Suddenly there was

such a violent earthquake

that the foundations

of the prison

were shaken.

At once all

the prison doors

flew open

and everyone's

chains came loose.

The jailer

woke up

and when he saw

the prison doors

open,

he drew his sword

and was about

to kill himself

because he thought

the prisoners

had escaped.

This jailer

was not going to

wait for his own

execution for failing

to secure the prisoners.

And in that moment

as he draws his sword

Paul calls out

don't harm

yourself.

We are all here.

So not only

does Paul and Silas

not leave themselves

but somehow

they managed

to keep the other

prisoners

with them as well.

They had an opportunity

in this moment

to pay back

for the treatment

that they had received.

they didn't take it.

And in that split

second moment

it moved

this jailer.

Verse 29

the jailer

called for lights

he rushed in

and he felt

trembling

before Paul

and Silas.

Not the other prisoners

he knew it was

Paul and Silas

these are the guys

here

these are the guys

who are different.

He says

sirs

what must I do

to be saved?

they overcame

evil

with good

they overcame

mercilessness

with mercy

with unkindness

with kindness

they forgave him

and he

was

amazed

they saved

his

life

and now

he wants

his life

to be truly

saved.

He knows

that Paul

and Silas

have something

that he does not have.

It's got to do

with their God.

They have a power

in their lives

that produces

peace

and joy

and kindness

and forgiveness.

He doesn't have it

doesn't have any of it

and he wants it.

What must

I do

to be saved?

He wants

a relationship

with the God

that they've been

praying and singing

praises to

but notice the question

what

must

I

do

to be

saved?

He assumes

that he needs

to do something

here.

Paul's answer

is very simple

in verse 31

believe

in the Lord

Jesus

and you'll

be saved.

Believe

in what

Jesus

has already

done

for you

and you

will be

saved.

Once again

Paul has

demonstrated

the gospel

to this jailer.

that's what

he's done

all the way

through here.

He has

demonstrated

the core

message of

Christianity.

Now did you

notice that

little incident

in verses

35 to

39?

Paul is

released

but he

doesn't go

quietly.

It's very

odd.

It was

against the

law

to throw

a Roman

citizen

into prison

without a

trial

and Paul

is a

Roman

citizen

and he

has not

had a

fair

trial.

So now

these

magistrates

are running

scared.

Their

livelihood

and even

their lives

are on

the line

here.

So you've

got to ask

yourself the

question

why did

Paul

not speak

up before

he was

thrown

into prison?

When the

magistrates

were standing

there and

they're getting

beaten,

why did

they not

just put

their hand

up and

say hey

guys Roman

citizen,

you know,

against the

law.

Why did

he raise

that issue

afterwards

and not

before?

One

reason is

he's

identifying

with the

church in

Philippi who

will not

have the

same

privileges

that he

has got

and will

suffer the

same way

he was

suffering

now.

But more

importantly

the main

reason is

that this

jailer needs

him to go

to prison.

This jailer

needs him to

go to prison

so that he

could be

saved because

the jailer

is not

free.

Paul needed

to surrender

his physical

freedom so

that this

jailer might

know true

salvation and

freedom.

Paul gave

up his

freedom so

that the

one who

thought that

he was

free

could in

fact be

truly

free.

Paul and

Silas were

in stocks

in the

dungeon but

they were

singing.

That is

their

incarceration

and their

suffering

could not

take touch.

It could

not take

away the

freedom and

the joy that

they already

had in

Jesus.

The reason

why Paul

was happy

to go into

prison because

he was

already free.

The jailer

had the

keys to

the chains

but he

was not

free.

he needed

rescuing.

He needed

to be

saved.

And it

was only

because Paul

kept his

mouth shut,

surrendered

his body

to the

magistrates,

then to

the crowd

and finally

to the

prison that

this jailer

found true

freedom.

Only then

and in

that sense

the

apostle Paul

was walking

in the

footsteps of

his

savior Jesus

Christ.

Jesus

was beaten

so that we

could be

healed.

Jesus

was put on

trial so

that we

could be

free from

condemnation.

Jesus

was restrained

by nails

to a

cross so

that we

might find

liberation

from death.

He was

executed for

our sin

so that we

would be

set free

from sin

and death.

He chose

not to

speak up.

He chose

not to

call down

legions of

angels.

He chose

not to

plead his

cause.

As a

lamb is

silent, so

was Jesus

Christ in

front of his

accusers.

And he

chose it

for us.

And we

see

this is

the immediate

impact

on this

jailer.

Belief in

Jesus

transforms

this jailer.

Firstly, we

see upon

release coming

out of the

prison, he

showed

compassion and

care and he

washed their

wounds.

Secondly, he's

baptized as a

public declaration

that he is now

lined with the

Christian faith and

the Christian

community.

Christianity is

both personal

but it's

never private.

It is

personal but it's

never private.

And thirdly, he

got what Paul and

Silas had.

You see it

there?

He was filled

with joy

because he had

come to believe

in God.

He is now

finally free.

God's

mercy is

in fact for

all people.

They are a

snapshot if you

like to show how

very different

people come to

put their faith in

Jesus Christ.

Three very

different people.

One was from

Asia, one was

a Greek, one

was a Roman.

Economically, they

are upper class,

middle class and

low class.

One was

spiritually open,

one was

spiritually hostile

and one was

indifferent.

One was

logical and

gentle, one

was apathetic and

brutal and one

was troubled and

oppressed.

The good news of

Jesus Christ is

for everyone and

everyone needs the

good news of

Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is

for you.

There is no

such thing as a

Christian type.

The gospel can and

has changed anyone

from the morally

respectable religious

person through to the

serial killer, from

advanced cities to

jungles, from palaces to

refugee camps.

How has it done

that?

Because it's true.

true.

The gospel is true for

everyone.

We live in a culture

that says, well, if it's

true for you, then it's

true for you.

But Christianity doesn't

do anything with you.

It doesn't help you in

any way.

Unless what Jesus says

about himself, his

perfect life, his death

for our sin, his

resurrection and reign

over all things is

actually true.

If it's not true, it

is powerless to bring

transformation and

change.

Powerless to set you

free.

If it's not true, it

doesn't work.

But if it is true, it

works for everyone.

There is no religion in

the world as culturally

diverse as Christianity

because it's true.

Every world religion has

the majority of its

people in one or two

continents.

Except for Christianity.

Approximately 20% of

Christians are in

Africa.

Another 20% in Latin

America.

Nearly 20% in Asia.

A little more than 20%

in Europe.

And a little less than

20% in North America.

That's spread and

impact across all kinds

of different areas and

cultures and people

groups.

No other religion is

even close to being that

well distributed.

Because it is true for

all people.

There is no Christian

type.

There is no greater

unifying power on the

face of the earth than

the good news of Jesus

Christ.

It brings diverse groups

of people together.

I love the last verse of

this section.

After Paul and Silas came

out of the prison, they

went to Lydia's house where

they met with the

brothers and sisters and

encouraged them.

This is the new Christian

church of Philippi.

It is all those who have

believed in Jesus Christ.

Who are they?

At the very least we know in

this new church is Lydia.

It's in her house.

Lydia, the slave girl and

the jailer.

worshipping Jesus side by

side as new description

brothers and sisters in

Christ.

Friends, how much clearer does

the Bible need to be that

heritage, social class,

gender means nothing?

Nothing.

None of it's a hindrance or a

barrier to Jesus.

There is no Christian type.

And so for the Christians

tuning in, listen to me right

now.

God can and does work in the

most unlikely individual.

Just like me.

Just like you.

It's what I'd forgotten.

All those years ago sitting

on that front step of the

house with that intoxicated

man that that was me

spiritually.

I'd forgotten that.

But if you're not a

Christian yet, this all

simply means that God's

mercy is for you.

The good use of Jesus

Christ is for you.

I don't know,

I may not know you

personally.

You may have just tuned in.

But I do know that you

are the Christian type.

The gospel can change

anyone.

Jesus was beautiful enough

for Lydia, powerful enough

for the slave girl, and

liberating enough for the

jailer.

He's got what you'd need

right now too.

There is no Christian type

and who knows what you'll

become when you see Jesus

as beautiful, powerful, and

liberating for you and your

life.

Amen.