God's Saving Power

We're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise. We're singing in Psalm 90,

in the Scottish Psalter, Psalm 90. We're singing from verse 13 down to the end of the Psalm,

page 350 of the Psalm book, Psalm 90 at verse 13 down to the end. Turn,

yet again to us, O Lord, how long thus shall it be? Let it repent thee now for those that servants

are to thee. A Psalm crying out to God for his help. And the prayer at the end of the Psalm,

verse 17, and let the beauty of the Lord, our God, be us upon our handiworks. Establish thou,

establish them each one. We'll sing from verse 13 to 17 to God's praise, and we stand to sing.

Yet again to us, O Lord, how long thus shall it be? Let it repent thee now for those that

that serve us the Lord, our God, be us upon our handiworks. Let it repent thee now for those that serve us the Lord,

and let it repent thee now for those that serve us the Lord, our God, be us upon our handiworks.

O Lord, how long thin we are, and let it repent thee now for those that serve us the Lord, our God, be us upon our handiworks.

O Lord, how long as shall it be? Let it repent thee now for those that serve us the Lord, our God, be us upon our handiworks.

Let it repent thee now for those that serve us after thee.

O with thy tender mercy, Lord, as thou art thee satisfied,

So we rejoice shall all our days, and still be glad in thee.

According as the days of thee,

When we leave the past,

And years when we ill have seen,

So do thou make us glad.

O let thy word and power appear,

Thy servants face thee poor,

And show us who their children dear,

Thy glory evermore,

And let the beauty of the Lord

Our God be us upon,

Our handy word established now,

Established there, ye strong.

We come to God in prayer.

We bow our heads in a word of prayer.

Our Father in heaven,

We thank you for the beauty of this day,

As we've enjoyed walking into the church here,

As we've enjoyed just even looking out through our windows,

On this bright sunny morning.

We thank you for the beauty it shows to us.

But we thank you that behind it all is the wonder of you as the maker,

The creator of it all.

And we have sung of the beauty of the Lord,

And we pray that the beauty of the Lord would be upon us today,

As the psalm says,

That we would know the joy of your presence,

That we would know joy in our time of worship here,

That in all that we do,

We would know, Lord, that we are able to look to you,

And to rejoice in you,

That you are God,

And there is no other.

So we pray, Lord, for everything that we do today.

We pray for the time of worships we enjoy together,

Both this morning and this evening.

We thank you for the Sunday school,

And the creche and the tweenies,

And the time they enjoy together there.

We thank you for times of fellowship around even just a cup of tea,

And getting to know one another,

And sharing with one another.

We thank you for all that we have to enjoy from your hands.

And we pray, Lord, that you will make us thankful,

For every good gift that we have,

All that you give us day by day.

We do pray, Lord, your blessing on us as a people,

From young to old here.

We thank you for all the homes and the families represented.

Thank you for those who are tuning in online as well.

And we pray that near and far, Lord, your word will go with power,

That will speak to us and remind us of the greatness of God,

The goodness that you have shown to us,

And giving your son, Jesus Christ.

And we thank you that we come in his name asking all things.

So we pray, Lord, that you will draw near to us and be with us in all that we do.

That you will pardon our sins as we ask it all in that precious name of Jesus,

For his sake and glory.

Amen.

I'll just have a word to the young ones before you go through next door.

You know, last week I was seeing how many of you were going out,

Coming down through the church.

And it's great to see so many of you coming week by week

And going through to learn so much about Jesus and all that he has done for us.

We're so thankful to be able to gather together and worship.

Now, there was something that was asked of maybe not so much the young folks,

But maybe the parents, but parents might need help in order to do this.

It was on the notice sheet today.

And that is to register for the Sunday school.

And to make it easy or make it more difficult, maybe for some,

There's a QR code.

And then you start thinking to yourself,

What on earth is a QR code?

So probably your parents or grandparents will need a little help in that being explained to them.

And how it works.

Because it's amazing what it can do.

And you think to yourself, I've got a phone here in my pocket.

And this is all you need to register yourself at the Sunday school.

But in order to do that, you need all kinds of codes.

I was thinking, well, there's the QR code.

But before you come to that, there's other codes you need to have as well.

First, you need a passcode to get into the phone.

So everyone will have their own passcode that they have to put into the phone to get entry into the phone.

And then once you're in the phone, to get to the QR code, you need the Wi-Fi code.

You need access to get a connection online.

And then you need to use this QR code to get to the form that you need to fill in.

It all sounds maybe a little bit complicated.

But it's actually quite straightforward.

You look at the QR code there and you scan it and it will do everything for you almost.

But it was reminding me as I thought of all these different codes and how they work.

And how complicated things can sound.

That that's sometimes the way it is with the Bible and the Gospel.

How we can maybe make things sound more complicated than they really are.

But how we can just look at it and see that there's actually easy access to get to the Lord Jesus.

You think about a passcode.

It gives you entry.

Well, as you read the Bible, it's like a code.

It gives you entry to come and draw near to God.

You're coming to hear what God is saying to us.

Then we think of the Wi-Fi connections.

One of these things that so often bothers us.

When we go somewhere new or when we're out and about, is there a Wi-Fi code?

Can I get a connection?

Can I get online?

Well, here we've got a connection as well.

A connection to Jesus.

Through His Word, we have this connection.

And then we come to the QR code.

Does anybody know what QR stands for?

You go into shops, you go into restaurants, you go into all kinds of different places,

and it can say, scan the QR code.

You can sit at your table in a restaurant and order your food and everything just by scanning a QR code.

Does anybody know what QR stands for?

It stands for quick response.

That's what it stands for.

QR stands for quick response.

The QR code enables you to respond quickly to something.

So this QR code on the sheet today, it allows you to respond quickly to Ian

and let him know all your details for registering at Sunday school.

But the Bible calls for a quick response as well.

In many ways, that's what we're going to be looking at this morning as we look in the Book of Acts.

We think of a man who was in charge of a prison.

He was called a jailer.

He had a question.

What must I do to be saved?

And the people that were with him in the prison, Peter and Silas, they gave him a response.

They said, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

This is like a QR code for them.

It demanded a quick response.

And he believed.

He trusted in the Lord Jesus.

And that's what the gospel is about.

We can sometimes make it seem so complicated.

But it's about having an entry, coming near to God, having access to Jesus and coming with a quick response.

Believing in the Lord Jesus.

So Ian wants you to respond quickly to this QR code on the sheet.

But more importantly for us all is to have a QR, a quick response to the gospel.

And to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We're going to say the Lord's Prayer together now.

Let's say the Lord's Prayer.

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever.

Amen.

We're going to sing again to God's praise.

We're going to sing in Psalm 130.

And this is in the Scottish Psalter, page 421 of the psalm book.

Psalm 130.

We can sing the whole of this psalm together.

Verse 1.

Lord, from the depths to thee I cried, my voice, Lord, do thou hear.

And to my supplications voice, give an attentive ear.

We'll sing the whole of this psalm to God's praise.

Lord, from the depths to thee I cried, my voice, Lord, do thou hear.

Lord, from the depths to thee I cried, my voice, Lord, do thou hear.

And to thee I cried, my voice, Lord, do thou hear.

My voice, Lord, do thou hear.

And to my supplications voice, give an attentive ear.

Lord, who shall stand if thou, O Lord, do thou hear.

Lord, who shall stand if thou, O Lord, shouldst hearken in pity.

But yet with thee forgive me.

Lord, who shall stand if thou, O Lord, shouldst hearken in pity.

Lord, who shall stand if thou, O Lord, shouldst hearken in pity.

But yet with thee forgive me.

But yet with thee forgive me.

Forgivenesses that fear thou hearst me.

I wait for God, my soul doth wait.

My hope is in his word.

More than may that our morning watch.

My soul doth watch my soul, which are the Lord.

I say more than may that to watch.

The morning light to see.

Let Israel open the Lord.

For with him blesses be.

And plentious redemption is ever found within him.

And from all his iniquities he is death shall redeem.

Give him peace and heal.

Thank you.

I'll return to read in God's word.

Reading in the Book of Acts.

Reading in chapter 16.

Acts chapter 16.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

Amen.

We're taking up our reading at verse 16,

although we're taking into consideration

from verse 11 this morning as well.

We will see the conversion of Lydia,

who was a businesswoman, if you like,

seller of purple.

But she was gathered this day with many other women

in a place of prayer.

And Paul and Silas went to see her.

And it says there in verse 14,

One who heard us was a woman named Lydia

from the city of Thyatira,

a seller of purple goods,

who was a worshipper of God.

The Lord opened her heart

to pay attention to what was said by Paul.

So we're taking that into consideration as well

as we take up our reading in verse 16.

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 own 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.

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 of 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.

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 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,

Sir, 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.

But when it was day,

the magistrate sent the police,

saying,

Let those men go.

And their 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.

Amen.

And may God bless that reading from his word.

Let's again just bow our heads

in a word of prayer.

Let us pray.

O Lord, our God,

we thank you

that you are a gracious,

a merciful God,

a God who is patient with his people,

a God who is long-suffering,

as your word describes,

and yet a God who is so quickly

able to transform people's lives.

And we thank you that you are the God,

the one who has all power,

the power to salvation,

the power to convert,

the power to change

from those who are darkness

to those who are

in the marvelous light of the gospel.

And we thank you

for your transforming power,

that just as you spoke

this world into creation,

so your voice still has power

to this day,

power over all people

and all situations.

And we thank you that in your word,

as we have read it together here,

we are reminded of your power,

power and control in all circumstances,

circumstances that seem

outwith our natural control,

but yet everything is in your hands.

We think of the people

we have read of in this passage,

Lydia,

a seller of purple,

and yet one who is so wealthy,

but maybe still distant from you.

But we thank you for your power,

that your word opened her heart.

We thank you too of a young girl

who was used by masters

who were making money out of her,

and yet you had power to set her free.

We thank you for the Philippian jailer

in his household,

the one who was in fear of his very life,

and yet was brought to rejoice in God.

We thank you for the way your word reminds us

that you have power,

not just in all these circumstances,

but power to this day over all our lives,

lives of people who,

as we often do,

find ourselves in so many differing situations,

how changeable our situations often are,

and yet you are the one who changes not.

And so we thank you that today

that we are able to commit ourselves

and all our loved ones

and all that goes on around us

into your mighty hands,

praying for one another,

seeking to encourage one another

and build one another up.

We do, Lord, ask your blessing on us as a people,

on homes and families

and all our different needs,

knowing, Lord,

that they are many and varied,

and yet none hidden from you.

We thank you that whatever our situation today,

whether we are rejoicing

or whether we are sorrowful,

whether we are afflicted

or whatever else may be going on in our lives,

that we know, Lord,

that you are the one

who is able to give us strength.

We ask your blessing then to be upon us

and to be upon those who need you

in particular ways.

Again, we so often pray

for those who are mourning,

and we know

throughout our communities

there are many who are mourning at this time,

mourning in very different circumstances,

and yet all mourning the loss of loved ones

in different ways.

We do pray, Lord,

for your comfort,

for your presence,

for your peace

in the midst of difficult circumstances.

We know that connected to ourselves

as a congregation,

that there are many

who have lost loved ones,

and we just pray, Lord,

that you will draw near to them

and their families, communities,

that your word will be blessed

in the midst of times of sorrow.

We think, too,

of our island community.

We have seen tragedy

in our midst this week

with the passing of Mark Elston,

who was known by many

even in this congregation,

someone who came through

the doors of the hall

on a number of occasions

and attended churches

in different parts of our community.

We pray, Lord,

for his family

as they grieve his passing,

his friends,

those who knew him

in different ways.

We commit them to you, O Lord,

asking for your comfort,

for your grace towards them.

We know, Lord,

in our world

that there are so many troubles.

We see it day by day.

We think of Libya

and the tragedy there.

We think of Morocco

and the earthquake.

We think of

so many other conflicts

going on around the world

and the Ukraine

and further afield.

We know, Lord,

day by day

that there is sadness

and sorrow around us.

But we pray, too, Lord,

that you will not leave us

just looking down

in sorrowful ways,

but that you will help us

to lift our eyes,

to lift our eyes to you

as the one

who is able to do

abundantly more

than all that we ask

or imagine.

And we thank you

that no matter

the difficulties

in this world,

that with you

there is hope,

that the gospel

is a gospel

of change,

of transformation.

and we know, Lord,

that ultimately

you will transform

this world,

you will transform

your people.

But we pray, Lord,

to know your power

even in these days,

that we would see

the power of your word

going out

to convict

and to convert,

the power of your word

bringing people

from darkness

to light,

the power of your word

transforming lives

and households

and communities

as a whole,

that we would see

your saving power

in our midst.

We pray, O Lord,

for there to be

much rejoicing,

the rejoicing

of days of salvation,

people knowing

the joy of salvation.

We ask, O Lord,

that your power

will go through

our lands,

throughout our world,

to all ends

of the earth,

that your word

will go out

with power.

We thank you, Lord,

for every way

that it does go out,

through every individual,

through every congregation,

denomination,

through all your people

around the world.

We thank you

that you have servants

who bring your gospel

and your people, Lord,

who are salt and light

in different parts.

And we pray, Lord,

that you will encourage us,

that you will help us

to be strong in the Lord

and to be encouraged

that you are at work.

Lord, continue to hear

our prayers,

bless us as we turn

to your word,

remember us as a people,

do us good, we pray,

build us up in our faith,

help us to encourage

and pray for one another

all the more.

And we ask all these things,

acknowledging our shortcomings,

our sinfulness

in our heart,

and yet thankful

as we have sung

that with you

there is plenteous redemption.

So, Lord,

forgive our sins

and go with us now,

continue with us

throughout this day

and with Adam

as he's with us

this evening, Lord.

May you encourage him

in his ministry,

in his life,

and in his soul.

And may he be

an encouragement

to us too.

Lord, hear us,

we pray,

and pardon us

as we ask it all

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Let us again sing

to God's praise.

We're going to sing

in Psalm 80a.

It's in the Sing Psalms

version,

Psalm 80a,

page 106.

We'll sing

from verse 1

to verse 7.

Hear, O Israel,

shepherd, hear us.

Joseph,

like a flock you lead,

you who are enthroned

in glory,

shine upon us

in our need.

We'll sing

from verse 1

to 7

to God's praise.

Amen.

Hear, O Israel,

shepherd, hear us.

Joseph,

Joseph,

like a flock you lead,

you who are enthroned

in glory,

shine upon us

in our need.

Shine on,

angel,

when man has

day,

and forever

as your might.

Turn us once again

towards you.

Come and save us,

give us light.

O Lord God,

the Lord Almighty,

how long will

your anchor's hope,

making void

your people's prayers,

so that all

your enemies

talk.

You have fed

the spread

of sorrow,

tears in plenty

we must shed.

We are now

before our neighbors,

humbled

and discredited.

Luke on us,

O God Almighty,

let us see

your glory

bright.

Turn us once again

towards you.

Come and save us,

give us light.

Amen.

So we can turn back

to our reading

in the book of Acts

Acts 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16.

And then we can read

at verse 30.

Acts 16

at verse 30.

Then he brought them

out and said,

Sir,

what must I do

to be saved?

And they said,

believe in the Lord

Jesus

and you will

be saved,

you and

your household.

We're very familiar

with hearing

bad news.

We hear it probably

every day of our lives.

Some sort of

bad news

comes our way,

whether it's

very personal

or local

or whether it's

national

or international.

We hear

bad news

so often.

And the psalm

that we were singing

there,

Psalm 80,

reminds us

that that is

often the case.

In Psalm 80

Psalms 80:5

verse 5

it says,

You have fed us

bread of sorrow,

tears in plenty

we must shed.

There are so much

times of sorrow

in our lives.

But the psalmist

then says,

Look on us,

O God Almighty.

Let us see

your glory

bright.

Turn us

once again

towards you.

Come and save us.

Give us

light.

So we often hear

bad news.

But what's

the best news

you've heard

this week?

Or even in the last

number of weeks,

what's the best news

that you've heard?

What's the best news

you could hear

in the week ahead?

There may be many

things that come

to our mind

when we think

of good news,

great things

that we've heard,

things that make us

rejoice

and are glad.

But is it

that we've heard

of someone

converted?

Is it that we've

heard that God

has opened

the heart

of someone

and they've

come to believe

in the Lord

Jesus Christ?

When was the last

time

you rejoiced

in that good news?

A sinner

saved.

The Bible

tells us

that there is

rejoicing

in heaven

over one

sinner

who repents.

And that would

be great news

for us to hear.

Maybe we have

heard it

in the last week

or the last

number of weeks.

We hear of people

being converted

locally

or in many

different parts

of the world.

Do we go into

the week ahead?

Do we come into

the day-to-day

with a sense

of expectancy,

a wonder,

who the Lord

will save

today?

Do we expect

conversions

to happen?

Are we

praying

for conversions

to take place?

When you look

at the book

of Acts,

it's a wonderful

book of encouragement.

If you're feeling

discouraged

in the work

of the gospel,

if you're feeling

discouraged

in evangelism

and mission,

turn to the book

of Acts

and read through

it and it

reminds you

that God

is a God

of saving

power.

From the small

numbers you see

in the opening

chapter,

by the end

of chapter 2

it says,

the Lord

added to their

number day

by day

those who

were being

saved.

Salvation

is of God.

And so the

book of Acts

is a wonderful

reminder to us

of the power

of God

to salvation

and power

of God

in the midst

of all kinds

of different

situations.

It's not always

easy and plain

sailing for God's

people as you

read through

the book of Acts.

Even as we've

read here

in Acts

Acts 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16,

Paul and Silas

they're in prison.

They're bound

in chains

and yet God

is able to use

that circumstance

for his

glory.

And it reminds

us that we have

to keep in mind

the greater

picture of God,

the bigger

picture of God,

that in all the

things that discourage

us and leave us

despondent and

despairing,

all the sad news

that comes our

way so often,

that we can look

to God and

remind ourselves

that God

is at work.

As you go through

the book of Acts,

it's almost a bit

like watching a

child grow.

If you're a

parent of a child

and you're with

that child all

the time,

you're watching

a child grow

and maybe you

don't see much

change.

But if you only

see that child

from time to

time,

if you're in a

relation,

maybe you only

sees them once

a year,

you'll notice

a huge change,

a big difference.

That's the way

it is with the

gospel sometimes.

In the midst

of the church

and the work

of the church,

perhaps you think

there's not much

happening,

nothing's really

changing.

Sometimes you

have to take a

step back

and see that,

yes,

God is at work

in this place.

God is at work

in our lives.

God is a God

of growth

and a God

of change.

That's what the

gospel does.

As you look

through the

book of Acts,

that's the way

you see God

working in

his power.

Perhaps the

people then,

they couldn't

see what God

was doing

until they took

a step back.

Actually,

when you look

at chapter 1,

all you see

is a small

group who

are named.

There were

so few of

them.

But by the

time you get

into chapter 2

and 3,

there are

thousands being

added to the

number being

saved.

It is about

God's power.

That's the same

God that is at

work here today

in our church,

in our community,

in our islands,

in our nation,

in the world.

God is our

God who is

working in

power.

And we can

take encouragement

from God's

word that he

will work,

that he will

do, that as

we look to

him and trust

in him, he

is able to

do far more

than we can

even imagine.

And so let

us keep

praying.

Let us keep

praising God,

just like Paul

and Silas here

in prison,

that God would

work in us

and through

us for

his glory.

Remembering

God's

saving

power.

So what we

see in this

section of

Acts in

chapter 16

is a powerful

passage about

conversion

and the number

of people that

God was at

work in,

in very

different

circumstances.

You have

Lydia,

you have this

young slave

girl,

you have the

Philippian

jailer,

very different

circumstances

and yet God's

transforming power

seen in all

their lives.

It's always

great to hear

someone's

testimony,

someone's story

about the way

God worked

in their life,

brought them

to see and

have their eyes

opened to the

wonder of

Jesus.

And there are

many conversions

you see and

they're maybe

not surprised

to us,

but there are

others that

are complete

surprised to us.

We didn't see

it coming,

but that's how

God works.

He works in

everyone's lives

in different

ways.

And the Bible

is full of

maybe surprising

conversions in

our eyes.

You think of

Paul himself,

his conversion

story is told

in the book

on Acts

on three

occasions.

In chapter

nine you can

read about it.

Saul who

persecuted

Christians,

people were

afraid of

him and

yet God

powerfully

transformed

his life.

Another one

is Cornelius

who we read

of just

previous to

this in the

book of Acts.

Again,

God worked

powerfully

in his

life.

Lydia,

here we are

told that

the Lord

opened her

heart.

The slave

girl,

she was in

bondage

through

spirits of

divination,

a fortune

teller,

yet God

set her

free.

And the

Philippian

jailer,

as we will

see,

someone who

was a

hard man

in so many

ways and

yet brought

to that

point of

bowing

before God.

What must

I do

to be

saved?

Conversions

are wonderful

things.

You just

have to

read through

Hebrews

11,

and there

you see

a list

of people

who God

worked

powerfully

in their

lives.

People

of all

kinds of

different

backgrounds,

all kinds

of different

issues in

their lives,

and yet God

worked

powerfully

in them

and then

through

them.

The gospel

is powerful,

and the

gospel

calls for

a response.

And what

this chapter,

chapter 16,

reminds us

of is the

wonder of

God's

grace.

The wonder

of God's

grace towards

all people,

men and

women,

boys and

girls.

God calls

on us all

to come

to him.

It's this

grace that

is at work

in all

of these

lives.

The grace

of Lydia,

a business

woman of

great means.

She would

have been

rich,

a seller

of purple,

of good

standing in

her town,

in her city.

And we see

that she was

one who

met for

prayer.

In verse

13 of this

chapter,

it says,

on the

Sabbath day,

we went

outside the

gate to

the riverside.

We supposed

there was a

place of

prayer.

So they

went,

and one

who heard

us was

a woman

named

Lydia.

The Lord

opened her

heart to

pay attention.

Again,

it's just

this powerful

way that

God works.

Just there

and then in

that moment,

the Lord

opened her

heart.

And maybe

you've come

in here today

and your

heart has

been hard.

You have

come in

here today.

You're not

really listening

to what

God is

saying to

you.

But in

a moment,

the Lord

can open

your heart.

That is

the power

that he

has.

That's

the power

that encourages

us as

preachers,

as Christians,

that we

don't lose

hope because

God's word

is powerful

to open

hearts.

Open hearts

of maybe

those we've

prayed for

over many

years.

Maybe we're

losing hope

of that

sense of

will they

ever be

converted.

And yet

this reminds

us that

it's the

Lord who

can just

open a

heart in

a moment.

In the

same way

as the

slave girl

too.

She was

caught up

in this

world where

she was

at the

hands of

her master.

She was

a slave

girl who

had a

spirit of

divination.

And yet

in a

word,

her life

is

transformed.

Her

life

is

changed.

The

God of

grace

can set

anybody

free.

From

any

bondage,

any

slavery

that we're

caught up

in,

God can

set us

free.

Why is

that?

Because

with God

it is

possible.

In

Matthew

Matthew 19:26

19

verse

26,

Jesus

looked at

his

disciples

and said

to them,

with man

this is

impossible,

but with

God all

things are

possible.

And what

was the

context?

Salvation.

The

question was

asked,

how can

the rich

be saved?

And

Jesus

said to

them,

it seems

impossible

to you,

but with

God all

things are

possible.

And that's

a reminder

to us of

the power

of God's

word.

That he

is able

to save,

he is able

to convert.

And we

don't lose

hope because

he is able

to do

that.

And that's

what we

see when

we come

to the

Philippian

jailer.

In this

section from

verse 25,

where we

see Paul

and Silas

in prison,

we want

to see

just two

things from

this section.

First,

we see

the question

that the

jailer has.

And then

we see

the response

of Paul

and Silas.

The jailer

was given

orders to

guard these

men.

In verse 24,

having received

this order,

he put them

into the

inner prison

and fastened

their feet

in the

stocks.

They were

put in

the most

secure

part of

the prison.

And this

man was

put in

charge of

looking after

them.

But

something

remarkable

was about

to happen.

Paul and

Silas could

have been

sitting there

thinking,

what's next

for us?

What's

going to

happen?

They could

have lost

heart in

it all.

But look

at what it

says in

verse 25.

About

midnight,

Paul and

Silas were

praying and

singing hymns

to God.

and the

prisoners

were listening

to them.

Here they

were,

they weren't

losing hope,

they weren't

losing heart

in the midst

of all the

badness that

was around

them and

all the bad

things that

were happening

to them.

They were

confident in

God.

They were

rejoicing in

him, they

were praying

and singing

hymns to

God.

and they

were those

who were

beside them

listening to

them,

listening to

them as

they praised

God and

as they

sang to

him.

And in

the midst

of this

there's an

earthquake.

The foundation

of the prison

is shaken

and everything

just seems to

change in a

moment.

They're free

to go

and yet

they don't.

And the

Philippian

jailer in

all his

fear, in

all his

terror,

here, he's

in danger

of losing

his life.

If these

prisoners get

away, his

life would be

taken.

That's the

way it

worked with

the Roman

soldiers in

those days.

But what

happens?

Well we

have this

dramatic

conversion of

the Philippian

jailer.

He fell

down before

Paul and

Silas.

Then he

brought them

out and

said,

Serge,

what must

I do

to be

saved?

Isn't

that a

wonderful

question?

Is that

a question

that you

have today?

Sir,

what must

I do

to be

saved?

What

provokes

this question

in the

Philippian

jailer?

Is it

fear?

Maybe a

little,

but fear

of what?

Is it

a fear

of

retribution

at the

hand of

his

masters?

Or is

it more

a fear

of God?

You

know when

Paul and

Silas were

praying and

singing,

the prisoners

heard it.

And you

wonder if

the Philippian

jailer

heard it

too.

His life

was about

to be

transformed.

transformed.

A life

that perhaps

had no

thought for

God until

this very

moment on

this night.

And this

was a man

who would

have seen

so much.

A Roman

soldier,

a jailer,

he would

have seen

so many

things in

life,

so many

hard things,

so many

wicked

things.

Perhaps he

was involved

in things

himself that

is now

weighing heavy

on his

heart.

He knows

he has done

wrong as so

many of us

do.

He knows

there are

things missing

in his

life as so

many of

us do.

But it

leads him

to this

question.

What must

I do

to be

saved?

Is that

the question

that is

eating away

at you?

And you're

thinking of

your own

life,

your own

situation,

the way

you've

responded to

God in

the past,

the way

you've

treated

God's

people in

the past,

the way

you've

lived your

life in

general up

to this

point,

and yet

God is

speaking to

you.

And maybe

this is the

burning question

that you have

in your

heart.

What must

I do

to be

saved?

Don't just

push that

question

away.

God is

going to

take you

to be

busy at

times and

you've

just got

a list

of things

that you

need to

get through.

but maybe

God is

just bringing

you to

a shuddering

halt like

this jailer.

You hadn't

expected any

of this to

happen.

An earthquake,

the prisoners

getting free,

his own life

in danger.

It had

happened so

quickly as

our lives

can often

be.

But it

leads to

this question,

what must

I do

to be

saved?

Stop

and ask

that question.

Am I

saved?

If not,

what must

I do

to be

saved?

Well,

the other

thing we

see in

this passage,

we see

the question,

but then

we see

the response.

The response

of Paul

and Silas

in verse

31,

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.

The word

of the

Lord was

spoken to

him.

The word

of the

Lord is

powerful

and mighty

to save.

And this

is the

gospel.

You have

the question,

what must

I do

to be

saved?

And we

can

over

complicate

it so

much.

But the

simple

answer is

here before

us.

Believe

in the

Lord Jesus

and you

will

be saved.

Now,

the response

of Paul

and Silas

could have

been so

different here.

They had

been beaten

by this

man.

They had

been put

into the

innermost

part of

the prison

and put

their feet

in stalks

to this

man.

They could

have easily

turned and

say,

you deserve

nothing.

And grace,

no chance.

But what

they do is

they point

him to

the gospel.

And thanks

be to God

that he

doesn't

treat us

as we

deserve.

That he

doesn't turn

to us and

say, you

don't

deserve,

mercy.

You

don't

deserve

grace.

He

could,

but he

doesn't.

Instead,

he gave

his own

son for

us.

He showed

his love

by sending

his son

into this

world to

die on

a cross

for his

people.