ACTS 16:16-40 MINISTRY IN UNFAVORABLE CONDITIONS2016 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Acts 16:16-40 Ministry In Unfavorable Conditions

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2016. Acts chapter 16 is where we're going to be tonight. Finishing up Acts chapter 16. We started it last week.

And so we'll wrap it up this evening, working our way from verse 16 through verse 40. And so as we usually do, as we look at Acts chapter 16 this evening, I'd like to read a portion of the passage that we'll be looking at. And so I'm going to read for you verse 16 through 25 here in Acts chapter 16. So here's what it says. Verse 16. Now it happened as we went to prayer.

And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the Spirit,

I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out that very hour. But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. And they brought them to the magistrates and said, These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city. And they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe."

Then the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stalks.

Verse 25, but at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the prisoners were listening to them.

Here as we continue on in Acts chapter 16, we're continuing the second missionary journey of the Apostle Paul. Last week we saw the beginning of that as Paul headed out of Antioch and went through some of the regions where they had already preached the gospel in the previous mission trip and the ways that they had, you know, ministered to the regions and picked up Timothy along the way there in Lystra and Derbe. And he was able to

And then they moved on from the territory that they had already covered, and Paul tried to go into new territory. And so we talked about Paul trying to go into Asia and how the Holy Spirit shut those doors. And then he tried to go into Bithynia, and the Holy Spirit shut those doors. And then they continued on to Troas, where they received a vision from the Lord calling them to Macedonia.

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in that they met Lydia there by the riverside and got to share the gospel with her and the other ladies that were gathered together for prayer and

And Lydia responded, and her whole family gets saved, and so there's a beginning of a work that's going on. But now as we pick it up in verse 16 and go forward, we're looking at more difficulties that arise for the Apostle Paul there in Philippi. And so I've titled the message this evening, Ministry in Unfavorable Conditions.

Because as we go forward here in chapter 16, you can see things get rough. Although they were called by God to Philippi, that was clear. The vision from the Lord sent them there to

When they got there, things weren't all peachy and just awesome and just wonderful. There was that initial, you know, moment of real nice, gentle, you know, hey, this woman gets saved and nothing really radical happens other than salvation, which itself is radical, but there's no crazy uprising or anything like that. But now after that initial work, well, now they're going to encounter this demon-possessed girl. They're going to be beaten and then they're going to be imprisoned, right?

And through all of this, God is going to be doing a work there in Philippi with Paul and Silas and Timothy and Luke and those that are with him. So four points we'll walk through as we work our way through the passage this evening.

talking about ministry in unfavorable conditions. The first point is found in verses 16 through 18, and that is, let annoyances move you to action. And maybe you don't have a problem with that, but that's not necessarily what Paul is doing here. Let annoyances move you to action. I'm not saying that we should overreact to everything that bugs us, but I would suggest that sometimes we can't let something go because God wants us to take action.

And that thing that just kind of keeps bugging you and keeps bugging you and keeps bugging you, perhaps it's there because God wants you to get engaged and do something about it. Looking again at verse 16, it says, Now it happened as we went to prayer that a certain slave girl, possessed with a spirit of divination, met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling."

And so now that they're in Philippi, they continue to minister there. So they don't just, you know, get one family saved. All right, Lydia, your house is saved. We're moving on. Paul was sticking around. He's going to be, you know, establishing a church there, building up leaders and, you know, reaching more lost with the gospel message. But as he's on his way to prayer...

So that's where he originally met Lydia and the other ladies, there by the river. And so he just continues to go back there to bring the gospel to whoever is gathering. But as they go back to that river for prayer, there's this certain slave girl, and it says that she is possessed with a spirit of divination.

She is demon-possessed. This is a reality that the Scripture presents to us, that there is those occasions where a person is occupied, possessed by a demonic spirit, an evil spirit, and

It is a real thing, and it needs to be handled appropriately. We see a lot of examples of that throughout the scriptures, and I'm not going to go through all of the doctrine on this. But just to point out a reminder for those of us who might forget, spiritual warfare is real. Demon possession is real. And if encountered, it needs to be handled in the name of Jesus. And it can't just be handled in the name of Jesus alone.

somebody else knows, or Jesus that somebody else worships, or somebody else has a relationship with Jesus. You might remember in Acts chapter 19, there's a mention of the sons of Sceva, who try to cast out demons in the name of Jesus, who Paul preaches. And it was not very effective. In fact, it

winded up giving them a beating because the demon's response was, well, I know Jesus. I've heard of Paul, but who are you? And because they didn't have a real relationship with Jesus, there was no power in the name of Jesus for them to deal with this spiritual battle. And so it's really important for us as we deal with spiritual things to have a real relationship with the Lord and then to handle these things in the name of Jesus.

And so demon possession is a real thing, and we've seen it throughout the Gospels manifest itself in diseases that people have, impairments, being deaf or blind or mute, and those kinds of things. In this case, it's interesting. This demon possession results in insight. And so this girl is able to bring her masters much profit by fortune-telling.

By speaking of the future, perhaps, or giving insights, or maybe speaking on behalf of those who have died, she is able, by this possession of this demon, to have insights that people will come and are willing to pay for. And so it's a business that is going on, this slave girl who is demon-possessed being exploited by her masters and exploited by this demon to bring forth this prophet.

Well, they met this certain slave girl. In verse 17, it says, And so as they have this encounter with this girl who's demon-possessed, she starts being a declarer, a herald for them.

saying, hey, see that guy, Paul? You know, see these guys? They are servants of the Most High God, and they're declaring the way of salvation. Now, it's an interesting passage to consider, because why would a demon do this? Why would a demon call attention to servants of God and announce that they bring the way of salvation?

Now, of course, Luke doesn't really tell us, and so we don't have insight into the motivation of these demons and exactly all the details of what's going on. We could speculate, of course. Many would wonder about this and think, well, maybe they would do that to gain trust and

So that later on they could deceive. And so, you know, well, hey, you know, she told us things in the past. And so now we'll listen to new things that she tells us that aren't the gospel later on. And so that's a possible motivation.

And it also could be kind of like an attempt to undermine Paul's ministry, causing people to see his ministry kind of like hers and, you know, kind of thus disregarded or no, like, you know, yeah, it's a spiritual thing, just like those other spiritual things that are happening. Just like oftentimes people, you know, kind of equate Christianity to all other religions. And, you know, it's just kind of like all lumped together in the same thing.

We also see, though, that evil spirits did this in the ministry of Jesus very often. They would announce, hey, you're the son of God, and Jesus would tell them to be quiet. Ultimately, whatever their specific motivation is, what we would understand is that it's a big distraction, and it's not a good situation. And so Paul's going to be handling this, but in the meantime, he's going to be annoyed by it. Verse 18, and this she did for many days.

But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out that very hour. So here she is declaring the truth, true statements. This commentator, Stanley Toussaint, says, though her statements were true, the gospel of Christ would be damaged by an association with a demon-possessed slave girl.

So she was saying true things at that moment, good things at that moment, but Paul was irritated by this. He was annoyed by this. He didn't want the gospel, he didn't want his ministry to be tied to or associated with this ministry of the slave girl, this fortune teller that was there. But although it annoyed him, although it wasn't right, although it wasn't

something that was good. It's interesting in verse 18, it says, and this she did for many days. So first off, we can see here, Paul is spending some time in Philippi. He is, you know, not just on the run, but he's, you know, kind of putting some roots down. He's spending some time ministering in the city. And so it seems like daily they're going down to the river. They're headed down to join with the group to pray and to share the gospel. And

Started with Lydia, but he's still seeking to do that and share the gospel. And so every day as they go, they encounter this girl. You know, she's probably on the route that they take, you know, to get down to that riverside. And so as they pass by her every time, she starts crying aloud. She starts shouting, hey, these guys are proclaiming the gospel, proclaiming the way of salvation. And so this is happening over and over every day.

Until finally, it says Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the Spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. I find it interesting that Paul is greatly annoyed. If I would, you know, write my own version of this, I would say that Paul was annoyed in the Spirit. He was annoyed, but not in a fleshly, sinful, you know, weakness kind of way. He was annoyed because

And it caused him to do a work for the Lord. He's greatly annoyed. The word greatly annoyed can be used in a variety of contexts. It means to exert yourself, to strive, to do something with great pains or great labor, to be exhausted or weary afterwards. And so it's often used in a sense of being troubled, troubled.

offended, displeased, because, well, you've been putting up with something, and you just can't take it any longer. You've been putting up with something, and you've been trying to hold back. You've been trying to restrain yourself. You've been trying, and you just can't hold it in any longer. And that's really what's been happening. Every day, they go down, and she starts shouting, and Paul's been putting up with it and ignoring it.

Maybe Silas is there holding him back. He's like, let me go, let me go. No, but he keeps going by, and he's annoyed. He's irritated. It bugs him every time he passes by, and he can't take it anymore. He's greatly annoyed to now he takes action, and he delivers this slave girl from this demon possession by speaking in the name of Jesus Christ and commanding that this demon come out of her.

And it came out that very hour. Now, that doesn't mean it took an hour. It just means at that moment, right then, you know, she was delivered from demon possession. But still, I remain interested in this idea, this concept of Paul being greatly annoyed. He could have, perhaps, delivered this girl the very first time it happened. But he didn't. Why? Why?

Well, I mean, likely we could look at this and say, well, it's because God didn't tell him to. He wasn't at that place yet. But it seems like God used this irritant. He used this annoyance in Paul's life to bring him to this point, to the right time to take this action that he took.

Thomas Constable, the commentator, says, It was evidently the continued irritation that this girl created in Paul that God finally used to lead Paul to cast the demon out of her. We don't know all the details about what was happening in Paul's mind and Paul's heart and why he didn't do this sooner, but here's what we do know. He came to this point where he was greatly annoyed. He had put up with it for a long time.

And I don't know if you've ever had this experience, but there's those times where you want to do something, but you don't want to do something. And it's like you have to deal with the situation, but you don't want to deal with the situation. Maybe it was like that for Paul. Maybe. We don't know. But it comes to the point now where every day it's bugged him. Every day it's bothered him. Every day it's irritated him. And he can't take it any longer. He's at the end of his rope. His patience is over. He cannot continue under these circumstances. And so now he takes action.

And again, that's where I get the point. Let annoyances move you to action. But in the example and in the model of the Apostle Paul, okay, so again, I'm not saying we should overreact to everything that bugs us. That's what Facebook is for. That's where people do that. Let's not do that. That's not Christian behavior. We sometimes have things on our hearts. You know, we get this idea sometimes of the way that God works is...

You know, he's going to speak to you very clearly. There's going to be a newspaper headline that says, Harvey, here's what you're supposed to do. And you're going to read that newspaper headline, and then you're going to read in your Bible a verse that says, Harvey, this is also what you're supposed to do. And it corresponds with the newspaper headline that you read. And you get this idea sometimes that,

you know, God speaks that way, or there's going to be a word of prophecy. You know, Rick's going to pray over you, and he's just going to say, you know, oh, here's what's going to happen, and here's what God wants you to do. And sometimes we kind of expect God to speak to us, to move us to work in ways that he does, and he can. But also, I would remind you, don't forget that God also speaks to you and moves in your life in things that annoy you.

And sometimes God lets those things be there that bug you and annoy you and drive you crazy. And you're trying to put up with it and trying to put up with it and trying to put up with it. And he has it there and he hasn't taken it away because he wants you to take action. Because he wants you to do something and engage yourself and be part of the work that he wants to do in that situation. I would encourage you.

to really consider this when things bug you, when things bother you, when things are annoying to you. I would encourage you to make sure that you're greatly annoyed in the spirit. That you would take that to the Lord and say, Lord, this really bugs me. You haven't taken it away. Does it mean you want me to do something about this?

Does it mean that you want me to personally get involved and work in this situation? And maybe it is, you know, something that you're reluctant to do. And so God allows this to kind of build up over time, you know. And you've been seeing this, you've been watching this, and it's been bugging you and bugging you. But the first time it bugs you, you weren't motivated enough to actually do something about it.

And so God lets it build. And so you get bugged a little bit more and bugged a little bit more, bugged a little bit more, until you can't take it anymore. And now you're greatly annoyed, and you finally take action. And that might be exactly the way that God wants to lead you to do the things that he wants you to do. And so maybe you see people who are hurting, and it bugs you that nobody's caring for them. Why don't they care for them? Why don't they do this? Why don't they handle this? Why don't they do that? And maybe you see that, and you see that, and you see that, and it bugs you, and it

Until finally, you're greatly annoyed and you decide, I have to do something about this. I can't just sit back and let this continue. Maybe you're like Rick Dominguez and you see those doors sitting against the wall and it bugs you every time you see them. Every time. It's like, when are they going to do something about that? And it bugs him, bugs him, bugs him, bugs him until finally Dave Burnt does it. Just picking on a couple of guys.

But you get the point that, you know, sometimes there are those things that bug you because God wants you to do something about it. And God probably has it bugging you because he wants you to handle it. And so don't just expect or don't just think that God only speaks to you, you know, in nice, pleasant moves of the spirit. And you're like, oh, I had this good feeling. And so I knew I was supposed to go that way and get involved in that way and talk to that person. You know, sometimes that person that bugs you, bugs you, bugs you, bugs you, bugs you is because God wants you to minister to them.

Let those great annoyances be, well, annoyances in the Spirit, where you let the Holy Spirit lead you and respond in the Spirit, in the name of Jesus, for the glory of God in those areas that bother you and bug you in those unfavorable conditions. Well, moving on to verse 19 through 25, we have point number two, and that is express your trust in God.

When you're in unfavorable conditions, when you're going through difficulty or affliction, it's an opportunity for you and I to express our faith, to demonstrate and live out our trust in the God that we proclaim. Check out how Paul behaves in verse 19. I'll read a few verses here. It says,

And they brought them to the magistrates and said, These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city. And they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe. They accused Paul of being a troublemaker and of trying to convince people to break the law. Of course, neither of those things were true. But their real motivation is made clear in verse 19. It says, They saw that their hope of profit was gone.

That's their motivation. In verse 16, it told us that this slave girl brought her master's much profit by fortune telling. So they had this, you know, get rich quick scheme. They had this lottery ticket. They had this, you know, guaranteed income coming in all the time because of this slave girl. And now that she's delivered and she can't provide those insights, they're upset. Their hope of profit is gone. And so now they are...

fighting back against Paul because of this deliverance that has occurred. And so they're accusing him of being a troublemaker, accusing him of trying to lead people against Rome. And of course, Paul was not doing that. But they're persuasive. And other people now get involved. In verse 22, it says, Then the multitude rose up together against them. And the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And they were beaten with rods.

And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them in the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. And so the crowd is convinced of these accusations as they bring Paul and Silas there. And the magistrates get really upset. They tear off their clothes and they give the command for them to be beaten with rods.

Now, it's interesting because there doesn't seem to be justification for this kind of behavior, right? I mean, they're responding very passionately, intensely, right?

It's not as you might remember, well, later on in Acts, we'll get to it, when in Ephesus, there's a similar situation, but it's when all the tradesmen who are building idols gathered together because they've lost all kinds of money because people are getting saved and they're not buying idols anymore. And there's a little bit of justification there because there's more people impacted. Here's, you know, a couple guys with their slave girl who's been impacted, but they're

There's this violent response to these false accusations, this antagonism to the ministry of the Apostle Paul and the things that are going on. And so they respond in a way that's not really rational. And that's something that we can expect.

When we're involved in ministry and serving the Lord, there's going to be those who respond irrationally, whose level of response, whose attack against the things of the Lord is going to be above and beyond what is normal or rational or what would make sense in the situation because there's really a spiritual battle that's going on. It's much deeper than just these guys are not making the money that they used to make.

There's spiritual battles going on in Philippi. There's spiritual battles that are happening, and God is going to break through, and he's going to do a work in the midst of that city, but he's going to do it differently than we might think, or perhaps we might hope, you know, if we were in those situations, that he's going to bring through the suffering, and through the beatings, and through the imprisonment that happens, he's going to bring out the gospel through that, and

And breakthrough in that way. And so they beat Paul and Silas. They laid many stripes on them. The Jews, you know, they had the limit of 40 stripes. But the Romans, they didn't have that kind of limit. And so they were beaten well. We don't know how many, you know, stripes they received or how badly they were beaten. But they were beaten. They were bloodied. They had wounds to tend to, as we'll see in a few more verses. And then they put him in prison. And they say, hey, make sure...

you keep them securely. So this isn't house arrest. This is put them in maximum security. And so the jailer takes them and he puts them in the inner prison and then puts their feet in the stocks. So they're chained securely to make sure they have no opportunity to get away.

But then notice verse 25 as Paul and Silas respond to all that's just happened to them. It says, Paul and Silas at midnight are praying and singing hymns to God. But then also notice the prisoners were listening to them. Two things are happening here. Paul and Silas are praying and singing hymns. Now praying means

That makes sense, right? We understand they've just been beaten. They're imprisoned. It makes sense that they are praying. But they're also singing hymns, which seems a little unusual, a little unordinary. But I think it's also really interesting that it points out here in verse 25, the prisoners were listening to them. God is bringing forth the message. He's bringing forth the gospel. He's bringing forth their testimony, their witness to these prisoners who

through the midst of this situation. And Paul is taking advantage of this situation to be a light, to be a witness. That's why it's mentioned that the prisoners were listening to them. This is more than just they have to endure this trial. This is an occasion, an opportunity to be a witness to Jesus.

David Peterson, the commentator, says, Paul in captivity takes the opportunity to testify to the character of God in the presence of unbelievers and to demonstrate before them his own confidence in the God he proclaimed. Here what Paul is doing, he's praying and singing hymns, of course, because of his own need, because of his own relationship with God, and because of what they're going through as a means of maintaining and walking with God in the midst of it.

but he's also doing it openly and publicly as a means of witness so that the prisoners could be there listening to him. And here's what we need to know. Again, talking about ministry in unfavorable conditions, you are on display as a believer in Jesus Christ. When situations are difficult, when you're faced with adverse conditions, with painful situations, with great difficulty,

You are on display. And Paul uses this as an opportunity to display, to demonstrate, I really do believe in God. I really do trust in God. As he prays and sings hymns to God there at midnight in prison. Now,

As they're singing hymns, the word hymn, it means to praise, to celebrate, or to worship with hymns. Now, I don't think I would suggest that he was, you know, this is the day that the Lord has made. Yeah, everybody, you know, I don't think he was doing that. But I think maybe Psalm 121 is a psalm they might have sang, a hymn they might have sang. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come from?

And those songs that they had sung so many times before are able to bring in powerful strength. It's not just music. Songs are not just an emotional thing, but there's solid truth in our worship. There's solid truth and doctrine in our songs today.

It's a powerful tool for us to handle the things that we're going through, but also as a witness to those around us that we can say, I'm lifting up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. And so even locked up in prison, there can be this worship, this declaration of who God is, this causing of yourself to look to the Lord, to trust in the Lord, to trust in the Lord.

And so worship is a powerful tool. It's a powerful instrument for our hearts, for our souls, but also for witness. And again, notice it says, the prisoners were listening to them. And the prisoners were saying, wow,

That guy, he can really hold a tune, man. That sounds really good. He should be on the voice. No, that's not what they were singing. That's not what they were thinking, right? Why were they listening to them? Because they had beautiful voices? No, because they were demonstrating their trust in God. It was noteworthy. It was astounding. It was, hey, let's stop and pay attention because there's something special

that's happening here. These guys have a confidence in the Lord. They're praying and they're singing in a way that it doesn't even necessarily have to be cheerful and happy, but they're expressing their faith in God. They're expressing a genuine belief in this God that they've been declaring. And so the prisoners are listening to them as they express their trust in God with prayer and worship. And as you have opportunity to

When you get stuck in unfavorable conditions, I would recommend you remember that you are on display. That's part of the work that God is doing. It's not just bringing you through the difficulty and the work that he wants to do internally, but there's also a work through that that he wants to do. Think about the example of Job, right? God did a work in Job, and he was...

working in Job's life, and at the same time, he was working on the outside. And you and I all benefit from the example of Job and his trust in the Lord, the work that went on there. And so in a similar way, hey, the people around you are watching. They see what's going on. They see when there's unfairness, when there's injustice. They see what is happening. And

Express your trust in God. Demonstrate and model that for the people around you with prayers and worship. Let them know that you really do believe. It helps you too to pray and to worship. You need that. And in those situations, that's what we would be doing also. But it's not just for you. It's also for the people around you because God is reaching out through you to them.

Well, moving on to the third point, verse 26 through 34, deliver the gospel upon request. Verse 26 says, Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's chains were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.

But Paul called with a loud voice saying, do yourself no harm for we are all here. Now as we go on, as they're singing, they're praying, and then suddenly there's an earthquake. Things begin to shake. It says the foundations of the prison are shaken and immediately the doors open and everyone's chains are loosed. This prison is thrown wide open by God and

on this night. But it's interesting. God had a different plan than what we've seen in previous times. Earlier in Acts, we saw the apostles imprisoned and miraculously delivered by the Lord. Guards are just like there, like dead men, just asleep. Doors fly open. Remember, the angel kicks Peter and says, hey, wake up, wake up. Let's go. And he leads him outside of the prison.

The first time they were delivered, the Lord told them, okay, now go back right into the midst of the temple and preach the gospel. When Peter's delivered, he doesn't do that. He gets out of there. He lays low. It's another prison break, but the plan is different. It wasn't to get them out of prison. It was a work that God did so that when they didn't leave the prison, the jailer would take note. So the jailer wakes up to this earthquake.

He sees the doors open and he just assumes, oh man, these guys have ran out already. They're already long gone. You know sometimes how you wake up out of sleep and if you're in a deep sleep, it kind of takes you a little bit to orient yourself. And so he's like, doesn't even go in and check if the prisoners are there. He just sees the door open. Oh man, I blew it. I messed up. I fell asleep on the job. And so he just pulls out his sword. He's ready to kill himself right there.

Because that was the Roman law. The penalty for losing a prisoner was the penalty that the prisoner deserved. And so you had Paul and Silas there. They didn't deserve the death penalty, but there was all these other prisoners also that were listening to Paul and Silas, remember? And so this jailer thinks, oh man, I'm in big trouble. I'm just going to have to end it right now. It's better than, it's easier than facing all my superiors when they ask me what happened. But Paul sees what's going on.

And he cries out with a loud voice. He says, do yourself no harm. And notice he says, for we are all here. It's not just Paul and Silas that stuck around. All the prisoners stuck around. We don't have all the details of what they were thinking or why they stuck around, but they're all there. And so he says, do yourself no harm. We're all here.

Verse 28, I'm sorry, verse 29. Then he called for a light, ran in and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? It's clear, right? They had made an impact on this guy. This was probably not the method we might think about or imagine. If God says, you know, I want to reach this jailer in Philippi. How do you think we should do it? Well, where does he go to church?

Let's go reach him there. What does he like to do on the weekends? Where does he buy his food? Let's go meet him there. God says, you know, how am I going to get the gospel to this guy? I'm going to infiltrate the prison, send in Paul and Silas, and bring the gospel in in an unexpected way. Clearly, Paul and Silas here have made an impact. They have been doing ministry there in the city of Philippi. They've been sharing the gospel.

We don't know if the jailer was exposed to that or not. They have this encounter with this demon-possessed girl, and they deliver her from the demon. Clearly, the jailer had understood and heard about that situation. And likely, he was also hearing the prayers and worship like the rest of the prisoners were listening while Paul and Silas were worshiping the Lord. It's likely the jailer heard that also. He was there on site.

But then they didn't escape the moment there was a chance. There's an open door. You might think, hey, let's get out of here. But they didn't. And that was like the final straw. That was like the final thing. That was the final thing for this jailer. Now this jailer, this guard knows this is for real. This is something that is important for me to respond to and know about because I

There's something different. This is radically different than everything else I've ever known and seen. And so he comes with the question, what must I do to be saved? How do I experience this change, this salvation? How do I experience what you have? And so he brings the invitation to the apostles. You know, we think about the preacher, you know, giving the invitation or the evangelist giving the invitation. And so he brings the invitation to the apostles.

Here it's the unbeliever who gives the invitation. What do I need to do? It invites them to share the gospel, to give the insight on how to be saved. And how did this come about? What would bring an unbeliever to this point where they would give the invitation? Well, again, it goes back to the previous point, express your trust in God. The ministry that they had been doing

The faith in God that they demonstrated amidst the difficulty, amidst the trouble, amidst the pain. And then the fact that they didn't run for it when they had the opportunity, but they stuck around as they were worshiping God and praying out loud and calling out to the Lord. It made an impact. It was a witness for this jailer so that he invites them to share the gospel with him.

I think this is similar to what Peter had in mind in 1 Peter 3, verse 15, when he says, sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. Be ready to answer with meekness and fear whenever someone says, how do you have so much hope? How do you have trust? How do you have confidence? How can you maintain your calm? And how come you don't bail as soon as the prison doors are open?

Why are you able to take a beating? Why are you able to go through these things and still worship that our lives are to be such a testimony of endurance, of great confidence and trust and peace in the midst of a storm? So that unbelievers around us wonder, how is it that you can handle all of this? How are you able to put up with all of this? How are you able to deal with these situations? Why do you have such hope?

The jailer saw the hope in these guys. The word hope, of course, it's not just wishful thinking. It's an absolute certain confidence, a joyful confidence. He saw that in these guys and says, what must I do? Why do you have such hope? How do I have that kind of hope? And so they respond in verse 31. So they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household.

They respond with a very simple gospel message. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Great verse. A good one to remember. This is the way of salvation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ because Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. It's about faith in Jesus. Now, some people get a little bit concerned about this verse and how easy it is to

to be saved. Well, what if someone says they believe in Jesus, but they don't actually believe in Jesus? And many people will then say, well, there's, you know, actually more that goes into it than this verse. It's just a little snippet that Luke records for us. And so, you know, then they'll begin to add in, well, you got to do these works, you know, you have to do these things, and you have to, you know, accomplish these things and reach this level and attain this high and get the certificate that I'll give you, and then you could be saved.

But that's not what the Bible teaches. It's faith in Jesus. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And it really is that simple. Now, of course, God's no fool. And so fake faith doesn't save you. So, I mean, you could pretend and make a lot of people believe that you're saved because you believe in Jesus. But if you don't actually believe in Jesus, well, that's a different story.

So it's not making it too easy. This is the reality. It is that easy, but it does need to be genuine faith. You must believe in Jesus, and it must change your life. It will result in a changed life to believe in Jesus. And that's the gospel. That's how you are saved. What must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Of course, though, there's more to Christianity than just that initial message. So it is that simple. But then also they go on to share more beyond that. Verse 32, it says, So some events are transpiring here. It seems like he's taken these guys out of prison.

To his own home, and they're sharing the gospel. They're speaking the word of the Lord. They're explaining things, you know, in more detail than just, you know, a one-liner. The one-liner is good. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. That's good. That's important. That is the means of salvation. And then, of course, there's much more than that.

Jesus said, go make disciples and teach them how to observe all the things that I've commanded you. And so there's a little bit more explanation. He's making disciples here, not just sharing that one line with them. Hebrews chapter 5 and 6 talks about that as well, that we need to go on beyond that initial repentance, that initial faith into maturity in the Lord. So they're educating them, they're discipling them, they're teaching them the word of the

giving the rest of the household an opportunity to receive the gospel message also. In verse 33, it says, he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes, and immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now when they had brought them into his house, he set food before them, and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all of his household. Amen.

And so here is this jailer, his family. He invites Paul and Silas in. They share the gospel. The family believes. They receive it. They're baptized. He tends to their wounds and begins to administer some healing for them. And he's rejoicing because he believed in God with all of his house. God reached this jailer through these conditions. Now, God could have done it another way, of course. And we can ask God later why he chooses to use

unfavorable conditions, but he does. And our witness through those unfavorable conditions is absolutely key. It's a big part of what God wants to use. Our heart, our character, our trust, our worship in the midst of those times is a bright shining witness. Probably a much greater witness than any amount of arguments or debates or those kinds of things can accomplish.

But it's that demonstration of a real change, of a real confidence, of a real relationship with God that makes an impact, that causes someone to request, what is the gospel? And how do I be saved? And that's what we see happen here with this jailer. Well, moving on, finishing up in verse 35 through 40, we have point number four, and that is use your rights within God's will. Check out verse 35. It says,

And when it was day, the magistrates sent the officers saying, let those men go. So the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul saying, the magistrates have sent to let you go. Now, therefore, depart and go in peace. But Paul said to them, they have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No, indeed. Let them come themselves and get us out.

And the officers told these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans. There's a lot of interesting things here in chapter 16, isn't there? You have Paul being greatly annoyed and those things happening, but now all of a sudden, Paul is insisting on his rights as a Roman citizen. And it's interesting the timing of when he does this, and why does he do this, and what's going on here?

Later on in Acts chapter 22, he's about to be beaten by Romans, and they're tying him up, getting ready for the beating, and he says to them, hey, is it lawful for you to beat, to scourge an uncondemned Roman citizen? And they freak out because there was some serious penalty for treating a Roman citizen this way. So maybe it causes us to wonder, it causes me to wonder, why didn't Paul...

when he was beaten this time, announced, hey, I'm a Roman citizen. And someone suggests, well, he probably didn't have time, but I don't know, if I'm being beaten, I might be screaming out, I'm a Roman citizen, you know? So I don't know if I buy that. Why didn't he do that? Why didn't he announce it sooner? And my suggestion would be this, that God didn't lead him to do it. Maybe he wanted to, I don't know, but God didn't lead him to. He probably had opportunity, but

He waits until right now. Now, another thought would be, well, why reveal it now? Why not just, okay, they're letting us go. Like, let's just move on. But Paul's like, no, we got to deal with this. We have rights. We're Roman citizens. And now they've beaten us. They've treated us this way. And now they're just going to try to put us away quietly. No, that's not going to happen. And is he just kind of like trying to get back at them and mess with them because they treated him this way? I don't think that's the case either.

I think he was just in line with what the Lord wanted to do in this situation. If Paul had announced his Roman citizenship before the beating, well, the whole course of the chapter would have been different. The Philippian jailer, of course, God could reach him another way, but it just wasn't the way that God decided to work and minister to this guy. If Paul had announced it earlier, they probably would have just escorted him out of the city. They wouldn't have had this encounter. They wouldn't have this household that's now saved. It would have been a different story altogether.

I would suggest Paul's just in line with the work of God. He's in line with what the Spirit wants to do. David Guzik says it this way. He says, This is the heart that we need to have, that we have rights. As Americans, we have rights. But not every right that we have needs to be insisted upon on every occasion, right?

You have rights in the workplace, but not every right that you have in the workplace needs to be insisted upon on every occasion. Sometimes to follow the will of God, you need to lay down some of your rights for the sake of the gospel. I think it's a good priority for us to have. We kind of need to examine our priorities. The priority needs to be advancing the kingdom of God. The priority, the overarching, the overruling factor of our life needs to be representing God to the world around us.

And sometimes that's best done by laying down your rights. And sometimes it's best done by insisting on your rights. But the priority is not our rights. The priority is the will of God, representing God, advancing the kingdom of God. That is the priority. But within the will of God, you have the opportunity to use your rights.

They're God-given rights. They're rights that are given to you by the authorities that have been placed there. But we need to be careful not to insist on our rights to the hurt of the gospel. Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 6 when believers were suing one another. And he challenges them on this. He says, look, you've been wronged, but you're not being a good witness to the judges that you're bringing these cases before.

You're not being a good witness to all the people who are involved and the witnesses that are involved. You're not being a good witness as you sue one another and go to court over these things. Paul asks the question, why do you not rather accept wrong? Why is your priority not the gospel and the kingdom of God? Why is your priority your rights and what you lost and what you're owed? Why is that your priority? Use your rights, but within the will of God, keeping the right priorities that

That God is represented well, that you're a good witness to the world around you. And so he doesn't insist on his rights earlier. I would suggest he's submitted to the will of God. He's going with what the Lord has put upon his heart. But now he does insist on his rights. Why is that? Verse 39, then they came and pleaded with them and brought them out and asked them to depart from the city. Here's what I would suggest. Paul did not initially reveal his citizenship.

But he did now to protect those new believers, the church, and the work that God was going to do. I would suggest he didn't insist on this as some kind of vindication or, you know, just a principle like, I got to be proven that I was right and they need to know how wrong they were in doing this to me. I would suggest that wasn't Paul's heart at all, but that he was doing this for the protection of the other believers that he was going to be leaving behind. He wanted to make sure they were taken care of.

And so he needed to make a statement and make an impression on these leaders and say, hey, what you did was wrong. We were uncondemned. There was no wrong that we did, but you treated us this way. And they needed to be taught that lesson. They needed to be reminded of the responsibility that they had as authorities.

And again, I would suggest it's probably to protect the new church. That's all speculation, but you can make up your own speculation if you want. Verse 40. So they comply with those authorities, even though they were wrong in treating them that way. They go visit the house of Lydia, they encourage them, we got to go, and they depart from the city at that time. He used his rights to protect the new church.

But he kept it to the will of God. He kept the priority advancing the kingdom of God and representing God so that he comes through this shining brightly with the gospel message, with the truth, to those authorities, to the community, to the church, to the prisoners. I mean, every aspect, every angle you look at it, they were shining brightly. The gospel, the truth, their faith in God, they were representing God well. And that was

It's what ministry is really all about. Ministry is going to take place in unfavorable conditions. Again, we probably wouldn't write this way, you know. We wouldn't, you know, write the account or write out the story this way, like here's how we should do it or here's how it should go. But let me just encourage you, as you experience unfavorable conditions, those things that bug you, they annoy you, take it to the Lord. Maybe God wants you to take some action. And he's letting that thing bug you so that you finally get to the point where you'll do something about it.

As you're experiencing hurt and difficulty and pain, express your trust in God. You're on display. Worship the Lord. Be vocal about your prayer. Be vocal about your faith in God. Let God be on display as you are on display. And then deliver the gospel upon request. As people ask why you have such hope, how you can have that kind of faith, how you can trust God in the midst of this.

Then be ready to give an answer. Here's why I trust God. Here's why I believe in the Lord. Here is the gospel message. And then make sure that you keep your priority advancing the kingdom of God and representing God. Use your rights, but do so within God's will and with those priorities so that the witness is not blown, that the mission isn't messed up because, well, you had to have your rights. No, make sure representing God is your highest priority.

As we close out the service this evening, we want to take opportunity to continue to worship the Lord, to meditate and consider these things, and then also, as we are doing on Wednesday nights, to have the opportunity to minister to one another. And so, as Kim leads us in worship, I would encourage you.

Be seeking the Lord. Let the Lord minister to you, but also let the Lord lead you. If he wants you to pray for somebody, encourage somebody, then you have the freedom at any time during the psalm, just go ahead and do that. Minister to one another, encourage one another, help each other through whatever unfavorable conditions we might be experiencing. Let's worship the Lord.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.