THE PICTURE OF FAITHFULNESS - Acts 16:35-40

Hey, if you have your Bible or an app,

let's open it up. We're going to

continue in our walk through the book of

Acts. We'll be in Acts chapter 16

Acts 16 · chapter mention

this morning. We're going to conclude

chapter 16. Next week will take us into

chapter 17. But if you've been with us

over the past couple of weeks, we've

been looking at this journey into the

continent of Europe, particularly in the

city of Philippi with two individuals,

Paul and Silas. Now Paul had a desire to

go and continue to minister in the

Middle East area. But after every path

he chose and after every door he

attempted to walk through, he found it

closed. He found that it was blocked

metaphorically speaking until he had a

vision. And in that vision, we call it

the Macedonian call. Paul receives this

vision and the spirit leads him to the

region of Macedonia. And over the course

of chapter 16, we've been looking at

Paul and Silas's ministry in the city of

Philippi. This is Philippi. That is the

place where the church was established.

And much later, Paul will actually write

a letter to that church known as Paul's

letter to the Philippians. You can read

about it elsewhere here in the New

Testament. But what's incredible is

we've seen that Paul and Silas have been

through the ringer.

In their obedience, they've experienced

suffering. They've experienced

oppression. They've been beaten. They've

been mocked. They've been imprisoned.

And one would think after traveling such

a path, after journeying on a place

towards a place that has been so violent

and oppressive that they would have

every excuse to throw in the towel. And

we might even understand if they said,

"God, thank you for bringing me to

Philippi. I just don't think this is the

place for me."

But that's not what we see here at the

end of Acts chapter 16.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

We see that they become faithful all the

more.

That they sink their heels in a much

deeper way in the proverbial sand. They

press in and they keep focusing on the

Lord. Our big idea this morning, one

that I want us to understand as we've

gone through this entire chapter is to

really know that our faithfulness to the

gospel

calls us to keep going, to keep pouring

out, and to keep building.

Acts chapter 16:40 is really going to

serve as the anchor text for our sermon

this morning. But what I want to do is

do a bit of a character study as we

understand what faithfulness really

looks like. How did Paul and Silas come

to develop such a faith that allowed

them to really press in so that they

kept going, that they kept pouring out

and they kept building. And I think and

I believe this is going to speak to some

of us in our lives today. Maybe you are

spiritually spent. Maybe life has just

been emotionally exhausting. Maybe

mentally you feel like you just can't go

anymore. You're physically exhausted.

Your health has taken a turn for the

worse. Life has just gotten a hold of

you and you have every reason to throw

in the towel and say, "Enough is enough.

God, I did not sign up for this."

But what Acts 16 shows us is that God is

worth it.

You know, the life that we live is but a

vapor. This is what we read in the Old

Testament in the book of Ecclesiastes.

It's dust. It's wind.

It's minute compared to the span of

eternity. And so often we put so much

energy and focus into the treasures of

this limited

window that we have of life that we miss

out on the eternity Christ died for. As

a matter of fact, Jesus will say it this

way in Matthew chapter 5. He'll say,

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

"Don't lay up for yourselves treasures

on earth where moth moths will come and

eat up, where rust will destroy, where

thieves will break in and steal it.

Rather,

if you're going to pursue things, if

you're going to keep going, if you're

going to keep pouring out, if you're

going to keep building, if you're going

to live a life of faithfulness, then

store up for yourselves treasures that

are in heaven because the moths won't

eat it, eat them, the rust won't destroy

it, and no thieves are there to break in

and

steal.

And I think it's one thing to read that.

It's one thing to study that. It's one

thing to even say yes and amen to that,

but what does it look like to live it

out?

What does it look like to endure in the

faith? Acts 16

speaks to us. So, we'll throw it up on

the screen.

We'll conclude the chapter beginning in

verse 35. And and I want to warn us,

this may sound just like an epilogue,

just like a quick conclusion that Luke

is bringing to the reader attention to

let them know, hey, here's just kind of

what happened next after Paul and Silas

were released from prison. But there's

so much spiritual depth here. And what

we'll discover this morning is Acts

Acts 16:40

16:40 is only true because of the path

that was laid before Paul and Silas. So

if you have your Bibles open with me,

here's how it reads.

When daylight came,

the chief magistrates sent the police to

say, "Release those men."

Why were these men imprisoned?

Because they were being obedient to the

gospel.

They were living a life of worship. They

were exactly where God wanted them to

be. They were doing exactly what God

wanted them to do, and they were

suffering for it.

Now comes the morning of their release

and verse 36 says the jailer reported

these words to Paul. Do you remember

what we read about the jailer last week?

So much has happened in Acts 16. Right

underneath the persecution, underneath

the beatings, underneath the

imprisonment, underneath the persecution

and oppression, God has been doing a

fantastic work. Have you picked up on

that?

And I hope that even in life today, we

don't let the hardships and suffering of

life blind us from how God is moving and

working. Because if Acts 16 shows us

anything is that both can be equally

true that you can be in the midst of it

all and God still be working

miraculously in your life. As a matter

of fact, what we see thematically

throughout the scripture, it's it's

precisely in those moments when we're

able to experience a deeper, more

miraculous part of God because there is

something unique about hardships, trial,

and suffering that really peak the

discernment of the spirit in our life to

recognize and lean into God in difficult

moments. Now, here's the challenge and a

point of accountability for us.

Sometimes we can give into those

hardships and we can give into those

sufferings in such a way where we give

them power that pulls us away from God

rather than them becoming the catalyst

that pushes us towards God. Does that

make sense? And so what ends up

happening is we're in the thick of it.

We're in the midst of it. And the

question is, God, where are you? And

God's over here saying, it's not where I

am, it's where you are.

I'm ready. I'm willing. I'm available.

I've sent my son for you. The Holy

Spirit indwells you. Recognize that. And

what Acts 16 shows us

is that we absolutely can be in a

position to recognize movements of God

when it's difficult, when it is hard.

And so, despite the persecution, despite

the oppression that Paul and Silas have

endured, we've read stories of Lydia and

her family being saved by the gospel.

The church of Philippi starting in her

home. The demon-possessed girl being

exercised and experiencing freedom in

the gospel. The jailer and his family

experienced salvation and rescue in the

gospel. And so verse 36 continues, the

jailer

reports these words to Paul.

The magistrates have sent orders for you

to be released.

So come out now and go in peace. But I

love this verse 37. Paul is exercising

some great prudence and wisdom here.

Paul says they beat us in public without

a trial although we are Roman citizens.

That's key. That'll get missed out on a

lot of us. But when you understand the

context of what is happening here, this

was a huge thing. If you were a Roman

citizen, then legally you were required

to have a public trial.

Now, what do we know about what happened

earlier in Acts chapter 16? There was no

Acts 16 · chapter mention

public trial. There was an accusation.

They were beaten and they were thrown in

prison. And it's not explicitly stated

in the text. So, I want to be careful

with this. However, contextually and

traditionally from what we know during

what took place during this time period,

more than likely Paul was anticipating

what would become of the Philippian

church.

And because he's anticipating what would

become of the Philippian church, he

wanted to be made absolutely clear that

he and Silas were not guilty of any

crime whatsoever.

If Paul and Silas were to just leave

immediately, what they risked was a

reputation being associated with the

Philippian church that that's where

criminals go to church

and they would be looked at in a

different way. They would continue to be

oppressed. They would continue to be

mocked, ridiculed, and imprisoned. And

so Paul wants to make it clear.

And so he says, "We are Roman citizens.

They threw us in jail and now they are

going to send us away secretly."

Certainly not. On the contrary, let them

come themselves and escort us out. The

police reported these words to the

magistrates.

They were afraid when they heard that

Paul and Silas were Roman citizens

because they knew they had did a farce

of a trial. So they came to appease

them. And escorting them from prison,

they urged them to leave town. Now verse

40, this is where we're going to focus

today.

After leaving the jail,

they came to Lydia's house where they

saw and encouraged the brothers and

sisters and then departed. And all God's

people said,

>> "Lord, would you bless your word? Holy

Spirit, would you stir our hearts this

morning?"

I think what's incredible about this

passage is it paints this beautiful

picture of faithfulness. And and and

this is what I found throughout this

week as as I was studying the text here.

Faithfulness is magnified. Faithfulness

is revealed. And faithfulness is made

all the more powerful when quitting

would be easier.

And the natural tendency of human nature

is to choose the path of least

resistance. And the path of least

resistance typically involves quitting

compared to something that involves

intentionality, discipline, and work.

And faithfulness definitely includes all

of that.

We must be intentional. We must be

disciplined. We must work at it. Again,

for clarity, not because doing those

things would merit salvation, but they

are the result and the overflow of our

salvation.

We are faithful because we've

experienced the faithfulness of God. And

God has so loved me and God has so sent

his son to die for me to rise from the

grave to see be seated at his right hand

and to be an advocate for me that the

natural overflow of my walk with him

should be one of obedience, faithfulness

and worship.

But in a broken world that comes at a

cost.

in a world and in a in a system that

despises holiness that comes at a cost.

Which is why we church must remain

steadfast.

We must remain in pursuit of holiness.

And this is where faithfulness is

tested. It's easy to be faithful when

things are going great.

But faithfulness,

true faithfulness is tested when

hardships come, when difficulties arise.

Which is why time and time again

throughout the gospel ministry of Jesus,

even into the New Testament letters of

the New Testament, we read about how we

are called to be an enduring people. You

only endure when you're going through

something. And we are called to be an

enduring people. Well, how do we endure?

I'm glad you asked cuz that is what

we're going to talk about. So, here's

what I want to do. This is our anchor

text. Let me read it one more time. Acts

Acts 16:40

16 verse 40.

We're seeing the faithfulness of Paul

and Silas who had every reason to walk

away. Had every reason to leave

Philippi. I'll just go back to

Jerusalem. I'll just go back to some

other areas that I've ministered before.

It's a lot easier there. I'm not I'm not

persecuted as much there. But no, they

press in and they remained faithful. It

says after leaving the jail, they came

to Lydia's house where they saw and

encouraged the brothers and sisters and

departed.

Throughout the Bible, God gives us

examples

of people who demonstrate to us what

faithfulness looks like. Because faith

should not disappear when things get

difficult.

So let's wrap our hands around some

tools that we can grab on to that we can

apply in our lives as we understand a

little bit more what it means to be a

faithful people. If you're taking notes,

here's the first thing we want to see.

Faithfulness keeps going.

There may be roadblocks. There may be

hindrances along the way, but

faithfulness keeps going. Now, let me

just be clear. When we look at all these

issues, all these topics regarding

faithfulness,

it's only and always because there is a

greater power that rests in us than any

power that comes against us. We've been

saying that often throughout this

series, and that is the power of the

Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit rests in

you.

So primarily the only way faithfulness

can be a reality in your life is through

the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit

dwelling in you. But what comes after

that? What does this look like? Holy

Spirit empowered. Faithfulness keeps

going. What does this look like? Well, I

think of

Joseph

from the book of Genesis. If you're

unfamiliar with Joseph's story, Joseph's

story begins in Genesis chapter 37 and

Genesis 37 · chapter mention

it runs all the way through the end of

Genesis in chapter 50. And if anyone had

a reason to stop going,

Joseph had that reason.

He was betrayed by his brothers,

left in a pit to die, but through God's

sovereign purpose and grace and mercy

was sold into slavery.

Joseph would then go and faithfully

serve his slave owner

only to be falsely accused of sexual

assault.

He's thrown into the prison. And you

think at that point Jacob doubted,

Joseph doubted. Do you think at that

point he's upset? He's shaking his fist

at God. If he is, it's not recorded in

scripture.

But what we do see is a faithfulness

that keeps

going in prison. He'll rise in the

ranks. He'll become the manager of the

cells. He'll interpret dreams. who

eventually make his way to the office of

second in command only to Pharaoh.

And later in Genesis 50, when he meets

his brothers again through a famine that

has overtaken the land, he'll say these

words, "What you meant for evil, God

meant for good."

But what's incredible, I think often

times we will immediately go to that

passage in Genesis 50 and just glaze

over what he says or what we discover

about his walk with the Lord in Genesis

39.

Because Joseph could have looked at his

life and says, "What has faithfulness

gotten me?

Where has this road of a relationship

with Jesus gotten me? It's gotten me

betrayed by my family, the very people

who should love me.

It's got me thrown into prison. It's got

me falsely accused.

This is where faithfulness has gotten

me. And we would understand if he said,

"No, I don't want to keep going."

So many of us, we we walk that path all

the time. I don't want to deal with

this. Let me just walk away. But what do

you do when your spiritual life is not

going the way you envision? Genesis

Genesis 39:21

39:21

gives us some great insight. Now, now

this is right in the middle of Joseph's

suffering. Keep that in mind. Says, "But

the Lord

was with

Joseph." Can I just encourage you that

the Lord is with you

in your prison, in the false

accusations, in the betrayal you've

experienced, God is with you. And if God

is with you, that's the strength that

produces faithfulness in our life. And

what does faithfulness do? Faithfulness

keeps going. Because if you're familiar

with the rest of the story, Joseph's

circumstances kept changing

over and over. God's presence did not

though.

While everything in Joseph's life would

shift and change, what remained constant

was the presence of God,

the strength and the power of God. And

this is what's incredible, right?

Genesis 39:21, who was with Joseph?

Genesis 39:21

>> The Lord.

So, what did Joseph know that no matter

where he found himself, in a pit dug for

for him by his brothers who betrayed

him,

in a relationship where he was falsely

accused or in the prison dungeon, he

knew that no matter where he was, God

was with him. And church, that's an

encouragement for us today

that God is with us. And the reason Acts

Acts 16:40

16:40 is a reality is because those men

knew that God was and is with them.

Maybe that's where you are today.

Maybe you're tired. Maybe you're

disappointed. Maybe you've been hurt.

Maybe you've even asked yourself, "Is

this is what faithfulness has gotten

me?" And you're wondering whether

continuing is worth it.

Joseph's story reminds us that you don't

have to understand what God is doing in

order to keep going.

Sometimes the reason you can keep going

isn't because things are getting better,

but because you know that God is with

you. So keep going. Here's the second

thing that we see. Faithfulness keeps

pouring out.

So, what do we do in our going? Okay,

Roland, I'm faithfulness. I'm faithful

to keep going. I'm going to keep

pursuing. What do I do while I'm going

and pursuing? You pour out your life.

You give the way that we phrase it here

at the Grove of your time, your talents,

and your treasures. You give your life

away in service to the kingdom of God.

And I think one of the greatest stories

that we see as an example for us to keep

pouring out is in the life of Jeremiah.

Now Jeremiah's life, his ministry was

not ideal. Actually, there is a joke

that uh is in the circle of a bunch of

pastors. Uh pastors love pastoring when

it's easy. They don't love pastoring

when it's difficult. And we know church

life pastoring can often times be very

difficult.

Jeremiah's entire ministry was

difficult.

But what he demonstrates to us is what

faithfulness looks like when one's life

keeps going and keeps pouring out.

So Jeremiah was called by God at a very

young age to go and preach the message

of repentance and judgment to the people

of Judah.

Jeremiah says, "I I'm but a youth

and I can't speak well. I can't do what

you're calling me to do." And and God

reassures him, "Before you were born, I

set you apart.

I had a plan for you."

and the difficulty that will be your

life

doesn't hinder and should not hinder for

the plan that I have for you. And if I

have planned it for you, make no

mistake, I'm going to go with you

through it.

And so Jeremiah is given this message of

judgment and repentance to the people of

Judah. And he'll go and hold them

accountable. You're in idolatry. You've

turned your backs to the Lord. You're in

rebellion against his holiness. and if

you don't repent,

judgment will come. He pleads and he

implores them. He begs him, "Turn back

to Jesus."

And how do the people of Judah respond?

They refuse to hear it.

They beat him. They chain him. They

imprison him. They mock him. him.

There's even one instance

in the story of Jeremiah where they

strip him naked and throw him in a ditch

to die.

And he continues to pour out his life.

He continues to proclaim the truth of

the gospel. Repent. Turn to the Lord.

Trust in him. and you will experience

renewal and forgiveness. At one point,

they have enough.

So, they take him and they throw him in

a muddy sistern. If you don't know what

a muddy sistern is, it's a dried out

well. Except there was enough moisture

where it wasn't dry at the bottom. It

was nothing but muck and mire.

And the story, the picture that's

painted there is that Jeremiah is

sinking.

At one point, he's up to his chest,

likely left there to die. And of course,

God intervenes. God's mercy and grace.

Now, do you think Jeremiah wanted to

quit? He absolutely wanted to quit. As a

matter of fact, he has a one-on-one

conversation with God and he says, "God,

I can't go and share this message

anymore. Look where it has gotten me."

But here's what I love because Jeremiah

recognizes this in his response. And I

think this speaks to us also because

maybe this is where we find ourselves.

I'M POURING MY LIFE OUT. I'M POURING MY

LIFE INTO PARENTING. I'M pouring my life

into my marriage. I'm pouring my life

into my job. I'm pouring my life into MY

HEALTH AND IT'S NOT WORKING OUT. GOD,

WHY? WHAT is going on? I can't do it no

more. But here's what Jeremiah

recognizes. It's in verse 9 of chapter

20.

Jeremiah reaches a point where he says,

"I'm done, God. I'm not doing it

anymore." And then he says this, "But

his message, your message becomes a fire

burning in my heart. Shut up in my

bones. I become tired of holding it in

and I cannot prevail." That is Jeremiah

saying, "Your powers, your word is so

powerful that I can't keep it silent in

my life."

You want to know what faithfulness to

keep pouring out in your life looks

like? you get into the truth of God's

word.

Let this sink into your bones. Let this

sink into your spirit. Let this sink

into your heart

so that you can't help but live this

out.

Faithfulness falls in love with God's

truth. Faithfulness keeps going.

Faithfulness keeps pouring out. So maybe

that's where you are.

You know what it's like to pour out into

relationships,

to pour out into a marriage, to pour out

into people. You prayed, you've served,

you've encouraged, you've taught, you've

loved, you've given your life away, and

you wonder, is anything even changing?

But the story of Jeremiah shows us

because the people are not going to

change. Jeremiah doesn't experience

renewal or repentance from the people of

Judah. Judgment comes. They go into

exile.

What Jeremiah shows us is that

faithfulness doesn't require the visible

results. We've learned this uh over the

last couple of weeks through our worship

and through obedience. We don't have to

know the outcome.

We just have to know that God is there,

that God is with us.

So, keep pouring out what God has

entrusted you with. Here's a lesson.

Faithfulness keeps building.

Faithfulness that keeps building is a

faithfulness that will outlast you.

If you've been here long enough, you

know, often times we'll use the

illustration of of ripples in the water.

If you throw a stone in a body of water,

there will be ripples. And the ripples

will extend out before they start to

dissipate. And the larger the rock, the

stronger the ripples, and the longer the

ripples will last. What rock are you

throwing into the body of water that is

your life, that is your children, that

is your grandchildren, that is your

marriage? What ripples of faith are

extending beyond the here and now that

you're looking into? And when I think

about faithfulness, it keeps building. I

think about the greatest example who

showed us what faithfulness is. And

that's the lamb of God who's come to

take away the sins of the world. That's

our Lord and Savior, Jesus

Christ.

He's the greatest picture of

faithfulness.

Rejected by the very people he came to

save.

Betrayed,

abandoned by one of his disciples. He

was denied by Peter. He was falsely

accused. He was mocked, beaten,

ridiculed, crucified. We know the story.

The travesty that is his crucifixion,

the beauty that is his crucifixion.

And yet Jesus remained faithful. And I

think this can be lost on us. And it if

we're not careful, we can really

belittle the humanity of Jesus. Because

I've been there before. You say, "Well,

of course Jesus did it. He's God. Now,

hold on.

Yes, he's God. Yes and amen. There's

there's no two ways around that. But he

was fully human. And the scripture says

that he did not count equality with God

as something to be grasped.

But he humbled himself to the point of

death, death on the cross.

This is Jesus

being faithful to the end, remains

faithful to the mission at hand. And

before any of it ever happened,

Jesus already knew

that he was living a life that would

establish a faithfulness that would keep

building. Here's what he says in Matthew

Matthew 16:18

16:18.

This is in a conversation with Peter.

And remember the confession that Peter

makes, you are the Christ.

Jesus responds,"I will build my church

and the gates of Hades will not

overpower it." Some of your translations

will say, "The gates of hell will not

overcome it."

For a moment, if you're ever unfamiliar

with the life ministry

and death of Jesus,

you could look at the story and realize

all hope is lost. He's dead. He is gone.

Evil has won. Everything has collapsed.

But then resurrection comes.

New life enters the picture. Glory and

power over sin, death, in the grave

enter the picture. And what goes

forward? The gospel goes forward. The

church is multiplied. Everything we've

been reading throughout 16 chapters in

the book of Acts is a result of the

resurrected savior who calls people his

own, who empowers them, that despite

what happens, you keep going, you keep

pouring out, and you keep building. And

the life, death, and ministry of Jesus

keeps building. Over 2,000 years later,

the church is still building.

Why? Because I will build my church is

what Jesus says. And you and I,

we've been called into service to the

kingdom of God.

So that we would keep going. And in our

going, we would pour out. And in pouring

out, we would build up his

kingdom.

This is why Paul and Silas

can accomplish what takes place in

chapter 16:40.

After leaving the jail, they came to

Lydia's house where they saw and

encouraged the brothers and sisters and

then departed. Men who kept going, men

who kept pouring out, men who kept

building because of the examples laid

before them. the greatest one in Jesus

Christ himself

who gave of his life for their sins who

rose from the grave to show them glory

and power that belongs only to the

father and it's that father who invites

us into his kingdom to take part and how

he's moving it forward

all centered on the lamb of God who's

come to take away the sins of the world.

So church,

if you've been wounded, keep going.

When you've poured out and you're

wondering whether you have anything left

to give, keep pouring out. And when you

can't see what God is doing,

keep building

because God is with us. His word is in

us. And Christ has made a promise that

his church will thrive. Would you pray

with me?

Lord, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for how you move.

May we be a people

who step into faithfulness, not because

of any gift in and of ourselves,

but because of the greatest gift that

you've given us, the gift of eternal

life. We're grateful for you. In

Christ's name we pray. All God's people

said, amen.