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[0:00] Thank you.

[0:30] Thank you.

[1:00] Thank you.

[1:30] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Now if you're feeling the building rather chilly this morning, don't blame the church officers or the office bearers.

[1:58] It's a fuse that went apparently in the pole and it's been put right. So maybe if you go closer to one another, you'll be warmer and hopefully you'll have the warmth of the Holy Spirit as we engage in this act of worship.

[2:21] Let us sing to God's praise from Psalm 105. Psalm 105. Give thanks to God, call on His name, to men His deeds make known.

[2:38] Sing ye to Him, sing psalms, proclaim His wondrous works each one. See that ye in His holy name to glory do accord.

[2:50] And let the heart of everyone rejoice that seeks the Lord. The Lord Almighty and His strength with steadfast hearts seek ye.

[3:03] His blessed and His gracious face seek ye continually. Think on the works that He has done, which admiration breed.

[3:15] His wonders and the judgments all, which from His mouth proceed. We'll sing these verses. Psalm 105.

[3:28] Give thanks to God. Oh, thanks to God.

[3:39] Oh, thanks to God. Oh, thanks to God. Oh, thanks to God. Amen. That he enters over him.

[4:25] To glory to the Lord. And bless the heart of everyone.

[4:45] Rejoice the Lord. The Lord Almighty love you may.

[5:06] With devils large to be. His blessed love, His dear哪裡 Think of His哪裡 Think of the words of哪裡 Oh, God, with God's哪裡 shown thee His love earned her earned his love which of his own God's need.

[6:20] Let us engage in prayer. Eternal and ever-blessed one, thou art the God of wonders, and your servant in the words we have sung encourages us to sing praise to thee for the wonders that have been done by thee, the wonders that have been done in the past, even from the very outset, in creation itself, as thou didst display the word of thy power in bringing creation into being, so that, as we gather today and we marvel anew at the beauty of the creation in which we have found, help us to see beyond the beauty of creation itself, to view the beauty of the great creator God who has brought it into being, the God of wonders, the God who exercised your power and the liberation of thy people all, and the God who still exercises that power, that marvelous liberating power in the lives of men and women and boys and girls, and bringing them out of darkness into thy marvelous light, through the power of thy truth, being applied to hearts and minds by the ministry of thy Holy Spirit.

[8:10] O Lord, we pray that as we gather here this day, that we might know something of that power as we sit under the ministry of thy truth, and that thy word today touch the hearts and minds and lives of others who are still strangers to the power of thy grace.

[8:34] Bless, we pray thee, the homes of the congregation, the families that occupy the homes, and all who are associated with the congregation.

[8:47] Bless any who may be under thy hand in illness, restored to a measure of health and strength, and bless those today in a neighboring community whose hearts are sold through the unfolding of thy providence.

[9:06] There is much in thy providence that is deeply mysterious to the finite mind, so much that we cannot understand. And so we pray, O Lord, that the family that have been touched so suddenly and so unexpectedly may indeed come to know the comfort that comes from above in the hollowness and the emptiness of bereavement.

[9:38] We pray, too, for all who were involved in what took place. O Lord, blessed to each and all, help us as we further wait upon thee here.

[9:52] Lead us and guide us, cleanse us in the blood. In Jesus' name we ask it with forgiveness of sin. Amen. Amen. Now, just a word to the children.

[10:08] I am assuming that at least some of you attend the school here in Briasglid. Perhaps all of you do.

[10:19] I hope that is a correct assumption because it has been brought to my attention that at least some of the pupils of Briasglid school have fairly recently been involved in a search for an elusive animal.

[10:40] A supposedly elusive animal. Although I am led to believe that the local acting reporter of the event, a pupil, and is reputed to have stated that there are, and I quote, plenty monkeys in Briasglid.

[11:01] Now, I am not in any way qualified to know whether the statement is true or entirely fictitious. If the so-called reporter meant that there were plenty children with a mischievous street, I would require further evidence of that before I would commit myself to a view.

[11:25] It has also been brought to my attention that in the course of searching for this elusive animal that those involved, perhaps with some shrewd guidance, managed to highlight some of the most striking features that characterize this area.

[11:50] Viewers, I believe, are treated to a guided tour or walk. In fact, I think one feature was a merlin walk. Well, the word walk features much in the Bible.

[12:07] And as you grow up, you will be faced with many pathways which to follow in life. But there is only one pathway that leads to salvation, and that is looking to Jesus Christ and trusting in Him alone.

[12:32] The word walk features quite a lot in the Bible. In fact, in the first book of Genesis, we are told of a man by the name of Enoch who walked with God.

[12:47] God and the word walk indicates that his whole life was devoted to living for God. That's the kind of life to which every person who trusts in Christ is called to make.

[13:06] So that as you go through life and are faced with different walkways, may you be guided to choose the walkway that leads to salvation, so that you might be like those of whom the psalmist wrote, blessed are they who to observe his statutes are inclined, and who to seek the living God with their whole heart and mind.

[13:36] such in his ways to walk are they to know iniquity. The promise is given in the Bible, ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you, for everyone who asks receives, the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

[14:04] Seek and you will find. May God grant that that be true of you as you rise up in this community and of us all.

[14:17] Let us again sing to God's praise from Psalm 19. Psalm 19 and at verse 8 4 6 The statutes of the Lord are right and do rejoice the heart the Lord's command is pure and doth light to the eyes in part.

[14:44] And we sing down to the end of the verse month 11 4 verses the statutes of the Lord of right. The statutes of the Lord arise and do rejoice the heart the Lord's command is good and do fight to the eyes in heart.

[15:31] Hence for him is the fear of God and just and give forever The judgment of the Lord are and righteous all together they more than Oh Oh

[17:11] Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Let us now read from the New Testament from the book of the Acts of the Apostles chapter 16 And we will read from verse 16 of the chapter Acts chapter 16 reading at verse 16 And it came to pass as we went to prayer that is Paul and Silas A certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us which brought our masters much gain by suit saying The same followed Paul and us and cried saying These men are the servants of the Most High God Which show unto us the way of salvation

[18:13] And this did she many days And they had Paul been grieved Turned and said to the spirit I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her And he came out the same hour When our masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone They caught Paul and Silas Drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers And brought them to the magistrates saying These men being Jews To exceedingly trouble our city And teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive Neither to observe Being Romans And the multitude Rolls up together against them And the magistrates Rent off their clothes And commanded to beat them And when they had laid many stripes upon them They cast them into prison

[19:15] Charging the jailers To keep them safely Who, having received such a charge Thrust them into the inner prison And made their feet fast in the stocks And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed And sang praises unto God And the prisoners heard them And 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 bands were loosed And the keeper of the prisoner Awaking out of his sleep And seeing the prison doors open He drew out the sword And would have killed himself Supposing that the prisoners had been fled But Paul cried With a loud voice

[20:17] Saying Do thyself no harrow For we are all here Then he called for a light And sprang in And came trembling Fell down before Paul and Silas And brought them out And said Sirs What must I do to be saved?

[20:38] And they said Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ And thou shalt be saved in thy house And they spake unto him The word of the Lord And to all that were in his house And he took them the same hour of the night Washed their stripes And was baptized He and all his straightway And when he had brought them into his house He said meet before them and rejoiced Believing in God With all his house Amen And may God bless you That reading From his truth Let us further sing to his praise From Psalm 103 Oh Oh Oh Oh All thine iniquities, who doth most graciously forgive, who thy diseases all and pains doth heal and thee relieve, who doth redeem thy life, that thou to death mayest not go down, who thee with lovingkindness doth and tender mercies crown, who with abundance of good things doth satisfy thy might, so that even as the eagle's age renewed is thy youth.

[22:37] We shall sing these verses. Psalm 103. O thou my soul, bless God the Lord. O thou my soul, bless God the Lord, and all that will be is, is still the full of me, who have been blessed.

[23:21] Bless O my soul, that Lord, I know that not for him for thee, Of all this kingdom, and your mercy, God, is still the full of me.

[23:57] All thine iniquities, who doth most graciously forgive, All thine iniquities, who doth most graciously forgive, Thinker again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again The love who devils not for night With evil love in kindness

[25:00] The love of heaven may be shown Who with the pandemics of good things does satisfy your life.

[25:28] Oh, that dear God, dear God, take me with this life.

[25:49] Let us now turn to the passage that we read. The book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 16.

[26:00] I'm reading again at verse 16. And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination matters, which brought our masters much gain by soothsay.

[26:24] And I'd like to take as our text the phrase, a certain damsel matters. Now, those who are familiar with the events recorded for us in this chapter will know that in the earlier part of the chapter, Luke, who is the writer of the book of the Acts, records for us how Paul and his travel companions came to Europe with the gospel.

[27:04] The first time the gospel came to the continent of Europe. It was not the intended destination of the apostle and his companions, but it was what God had purposed for them.

[27:25] Every other route they attempted to take was blocked. Luke records that they sailed from Troas and arrived at Philippi via Samothrace and Neapolis.

[27:40] Luke tells how their journey ultimately was made in response to a vision, where a man was seen urging them, come over to Macedonia and help us.

[27:57] The result of their visit was that the Lord blessed their stay in Philippi. Luke records for us how the Lord opened her heart.

[28:20] As she listened to Paul preach the gospel. And you might say she became the mother of European Christianity, the nursery of young Christian life in a large commercial city.

[28:39] But she was not the sole convert. The work of the Lord was not finished in Philippi with the conversion of Lydia. And what is fascinating to me, at any rate, is the way in which the Lord achieved his purpose in the city of Philippi in bringing others to saving faith.

[29:06] There is a staggering sequence of events recorded for us in the passage we read. And as the psalmist reminds us, God's purpose is not easily discerned.

[29:41] His ways in the sea, and in the waters great is path. Yet are thy footsteps hid, O Lord, none knowledge thereof hath.

[29:57] And we see from time to time, and have just seen very recently, in one of the labouring communities, the mysterious unfolding of divine providence, in the removal of a young woman out of life, taking a walk on a sunny winter's day.

[30:21] Who would have thought that that walk would have resulted in her being transported into the eternal world? Who would have thought that she would not return to her home again?

[30:39] God's ways are deeply mysterious, and often we are unable to understand the providence that may face us in life.

[30:54] Well, Luke relates for us in the passage we read this morning, how two others in Philippi were brought to saving faith.

[31:06] And you could not say that any of the new converts were like one another in the city of Philippi. They were all so different.

[31:16] But they all required the same Saviour, for there is salvation in none other. And so you have a staggering sequence of related events that demonstrate how God works in and through often mysterious providence as we see it.

[31:39] And so, I'd like to set four thoughts briefly before you. We are told of this encounter that the apostle had, which led to a sequence of events.

[31:57] So my four thoughts of this. First, the damsel possessed was a slave girl. So a slave girl's deliverance.

[32:08] Secondly, that led to spudious accusations. And that led thirdly, to a sizable earthquake.

[32:20] And fourthly, to a significant question being asked. First, a slave girl's deliverance. Luke writes about a slave girl, or as it is in the authorised verse, and a certain damsel who had a spirit of divination.

[32:41] A slave girl whose age is not revealed. It's very likely that she was very young. Like many slaves, she remains anonymous.

[32:55] We know very little about it, not even her name. What Luke does tell us is that she met Paul and Silas on their way to a place of prayer, and began to follow them around the city of Philippi.

[33:13] Not only was she a slave girl, in the literal sense, but she was enslaved by a daft power. She was controlled by an evil spirit.

[33:28] She was part of a cult who worshipped the Greek god Apollo. And as Paul and Silas went round the city, she followed them, crying out, These men are the servants of the Most High God, which show unto us the way of salvation.

[33:50] Now reflect for a moment on the words that she used. These men are the servants of the Most High God.

[34:00] That form of describing God is used early in the Old Testament. For example, Melchizedek is described as the priest of Most High God.

[34:21] An interpretation of the term is given in the context where that term is first used in the book of Genesis.

[34:33] Melchizedek blessed Abraham. Blessed be Abraham by God Most High, Possessor of Heaven and Earth. Possessor of Heaven and Earth, or Creator of Heaven and Earth, as it might be understood, it is as Creator or Possessor of the cosmos that God is called Most High God.

[34:59] It says before us the authority of God over the whole of creation. That authority appeared so attractive to Satan, he desired it for himself.

[35:15] I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most High. He wanted to take over control of the universe.

[35:29] And in this incident, the servants of Most High God demonstrate how that authority does not belong to Satan and never will.

[35:41] The question arises, why would an evil spirit have this slave girl shout out what was true? Paul and Silas were indeed the servants of Most High God.

[35:57] And we know from the Scripture how Paul describes himself as a servant of Jesus Christ, as a servant of God.

[36:08] And these men, Paul and Silas, were certainly proclaiming the way of salvation. And you might think that the pearls of darkness would not wish to draw attention to the message of Paul and Silas.

[36:25] One of the Puritans used to say, the devil will tell you a hundred things that are true in order that he might tell you the hundred and first thing that isn't true and weave his way of cunning and evil into the majelations of your heart and soul.

[36:48] Even at this very moment, he may be whispering in your ear. Although the gospel is truth, you have time enough to respond to the message of the gospel.

[37:04] You need not trouble yourself about the salvation of your soul today. Is that what he's telling you? Let me ask, how long has he been whispering that into your ear?

[37:20] And are you still listening to his whispers? It may be, of course, that given who this girl was and the way in which she was manipulated by the forces of darkness, that people didn't pay too much attention to what she had to say.

[37:39] And to begin with, Paul and Silas did nothing. So, then you ask yourself, why did Paul put up with that behavior for so long?

[37:50] Why did he wait? Luke tells us she kept doing this for many days. She did this, she did many days.

[38:04] Was Paul unsure as to how he should deal with her behavior? Or was he quite happy for her to publicize who they were and the purpose of their being in that city?

[38:19] Or was it the case that what she shouted was not quite so clear-cut as appears initially? It may be, of course, that Paul anticipated the problems that eventually were to arise.

[38:39] Then you read this. Paul being grieved. Now, the language there means that Paul was greatly annoyed.

[38:56] Obviously, she got right under his skin. And annoyed suggests a measure of irritation, even anger. Whatever the reason for the delay, Paul addresses the evil spirit directly in the name of Jesus Christ.

[39:14] I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of it. And he came out the same hour. And that immediately created great difficulty for Paul and Silas.

[39:33] They were dragged before the rulers of the city by the furious owners who had benefited greatly from this fortune-telling slave girl.

[39:47] God in his mysterious providence outworking his purpose. The slave girl marvelously delivered from the powers of darkness, her life turned around.

[40:01] Her cry causing annoyance, her deliverance left the apostles endangered and accused. And what we have to understand is that Satan's sin is always inside the sin of God.

[40:20] God foreordained these events for his own glory and the advancement of his kingdom. but I dare say it was very difficult to see that in the immediate events that followed.

[40:39] So that leads me to my second thought, spurious accusations. We read, when her master saw or her owner saw that the hope of their game was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, drew them to the marketplace before the rulers.

[40:59] They made spurious accusations against Paul and Silas. These men are Jews. They exceed any trouble or city.

[41:11] They teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe in Romans. You know, the powers of darkness are never short of recruits who are more than willing to be involved in the suppression of the message of the gospel.

[41:37] And against us, as is often the case, there were those who sided with those making allegations. The multitude rose up together against them.

[41:48] In other words, the crowd joined in in attacking them. Now, that is not merely a feature of those times. It still occurs.

[42:01] Perhaps many, if not most, will remember the scurrilous attacks that were made that were made at the time that there was a leadership election for the SNP party.

[42:19] And remember how people sought to malign the character and reputation of the SNP politician. Now, I'm not a supporter of the SNP, but I'm using that as an illustration.

[42:33] Horror of horror. Kate Forbes was a Bible-believing Christian. And are we free at that? Not allowed, according to a so-called liberal press.

[42:48] That shows the kind of country we have become. It shows the low spiritual state of our nation. The total repudiation and the level of hostility towards spiritual truth.

[43:04] And in my view, even sections of the media appear to be complicit in these attacks that were made on Kate Forbes.

[43:16] It is, and always has been, the work of the powers of darkness to seek everything in their power to suppress or dilute the teaching of Scripture.

[43:30] No one should be in any doubt about that. Paul and Silas were found guilty as charged. And Luke tells us of the result of that.

[43:44] The magistrates, they tore off their clothes. They gave orders to beat them with rocks. That was the consequence of the charges that were laid against them.

[43:59] And this is probably one of the instances to which Paul himself refers in the second letter to the Corinthians. Remember how he writes, five times he says, I received at the hands of the Jews forty lashes, less one.

[44:17] And then he goes on to say, three times I was beaten with rocks. These men were beaten with rocks and ordered to be incarcerated in prison.

[44:31] And the jailer was given orders to keep them safely. I suppose that the jailer saw much, given the type of work that he was engaged in.

[44:46] He probably saw the very worst of humanity in his work. Murderers, thieves, etc. People who were rightly condemned, because sin by its very nature has brought some to a lower level than others.

[45:06] But let us not forget that we all possess the seed of every sin in our hearts. Given the work of the jailer, those incarcerated in the jail, he was probably immune to the suffering of those who were entrusted to his care.

[45:29] Whether the prisoners had a fair and just trial would be no real concern of his. Pity or compassion would not be his strong part.

[45:42] Not everything could make him tremble with fear. He was commanded to keep the prisoner secure, and as a former soldier, because I think that's what he was, he would be used to receiving commands.

[45:57] He was totally obedient to the command received. This time he put them in the inner prison, passing their feet in the stocks. Something unexpected occurred in the prison that night.

[46:13] if the prison walls could speak, I think they could testify to hearing many strange sounds, the groanings of those in prison, the crying of some, the shrieking of others, the shouts of anger and frustration.

[46:39] But the walls of the prison, to my knowledge, had never heard the sounds that were produced that night. And were told what the sounds were.

[46:51] At midnight, Paul and Silas prayed, sang praises unto God. There was the noise of praying and singing.

[47:08] Did Paul and Silas have melodious voices I cannot say. But what I do believe is that in their singing of his praise, God took delight.

[47:23] Remember, they were in darkness, they had no light. They were sitting in thick darkness, obviously singing from memory. And did you know what Luke wrote about, about that.

[47:40] The prisoners heard them. And the language there means the prisoners were listening to Paul and Silas. No one has recorded us, say, to Paul and Silas, asking them to be quiet.

[47:55] Is it because the sound of praying and singing was so new to them? Or was it the way in which Paul and Silas prayed and sang?

[48:12] Did it have an effect on the lives of the prisoners? Wouldn't we dearly love to know? At least I would. but the jailer never heard that praying or singing.

[48:26] Why did he not hear it? He was asleep. So there are spurious accusations that led to the servants of God being whipped and imprisoned.

[48:39] And that leads me to my third point, a sizable earthquake. It was the earthquake that awoke the jailer from sleeping. He doesn't appear to have lost much sleep worrying about the state of the prisoners who had been so brutally flogged earlier in the day.

[48:58] But the earthquake shook him from a slumber. An earthquake as we know can be a very frightening and intimidating event occasioning much loss of life.

[49:12] And at the moment Santorini the island is in the news with the earthquakes in that area. And a lot of people leaving their homes although some are staying there.

[49:32] And often when there are earthquakes I remember reading of earthquakes in Turkey and Syria and some fell to their knees on the street for they thought it was the great day of judgment.

[49:50] How long that impression lasted I don't know but I do know this given the nature of the human heart once the source of terror is passed such thoughts are often quickly suppressed by the transient affairs of life.

[50:09] perhaps there was something in your own life that caused you great fear. Do you remember the promises you made?

[50:23] What would you not do if you were delivered? But when the cause of your fear was remod, you resumed living as before.

[50:36] I should not have said that because you didn't. You know whether you realised it or not, you became that bit harder in your heart.

[50:50] The Bible says it was a great earthquake and the impression that you get is that there was a connection between the singing of praises with the earthquake.

[51:03] Is that how God answered the prayers of Paul and Silas? We are not told what petitions they offered in their prayer. We don't know how long the tremors lasted.

[51:18] Luke doesn't report that any buildings were raised to the ground, as happens sometimes with earthquakes. But we are told that the foundations of the prison were shaken, all the doors were opened and everyone's bonds were unfastened.

[51:38] And the newly awoken jailer fears the worst. Seeing the prison doors open, he assumes that the prisoners have fled. Had that happened, he was under no illusion but that the penalty was dead and he had no intention of waiting for that sentence to be pronounced.

[52:01] lost. When he saw the prison doors were open, he drew a sword and was about to kill himself because he supposed that the prisoners had escaped.

[52:13] And only the shouting of the apostle prevented that course of action. And so the jailer calls for a light and rushed into the prison.

[52:26] And that leads me to my last point. A sizable earthquake, spurious accusations, a slave girl's deliverance, a significant question.

[52:39] The jailer rushed in, Luke writes, trembling with fury fell down before Paul and Silas. Remember who they were, servants of the Most High God.

[52:50] What caused the jailer to tremble with fear? I don't believe you can argue that it was the fear of death, for he was about to kill himself.

[53:04] Nor can you argue that it was the fear of punishment by his superiors, for all the prisoners could be accounted for, or else caused them to tremble.

[53:21] Could I submit that a town who had begun to deal with him? And it was a much greater power than any earthquake. The strong, all-conquering power of the Holy Spirit of God had begun to deal with him, causing him to cry out, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

[53:42] And in my view, there are not many questions of such supreme importance as that question. Whatever else is on your mind this morning, like things you believe you have to do today, yet, or tomorrow.

[53:59] You know how people draw up what we might call a to-do list. And some people slavishly carry out what is on the list. Others optimistically draw up a list, but it goes no further than being drawn up.

[54:18] But it gives them psychologically a measure of comfort. What they ought or even intended to do months ago still remains to be done.

[54:29] Well, however that might be, and whatever worry it may or may not cause us, there is nothing quite like this most urgent question, what must I do to be saved?

[54:43] not. Logically it follows, does it not, that if he required to be saved, then he must be lost? And that is surely a most serious and weighty matter, to be lost.

[55:01] Who told him that he was lost? I find it difficult to believe that such a conclusion could be arrived at without hearing the truth at some point.

[55:14] How does a person come to be lost? And of course the answer the Bible gives us is through the entrance of sin into the life of man.

[55:26] Short archantism, all mankind by the fall, lost communion with God and under his wrath and curse, so became liable to all miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever.

[55:42] That is, you might say, a summation of what it means to be lost. Let's remind ourselves of a conversation that took place in the Garden of Eden, where God calls to Adam, where are you?

[56:00] And Adam responds in words which are soaked in gift. I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.

[56:14] And God replies, who told you that you were naked? Who told you? In other words, who told you, Adam, that you were lost?

[56:26] Adam's conscience, as a result of the conversations he had been having with God prior to this, was witnessing against him. Nobody is saved but a person who is lost.

[56:42] And given the question of this jailer, we can conclude that he was aware of being lost. And does that not cause for trembling and fear?

[56:55] If you are in Christ today, when you were convicted of being lost, were you afraid? I know one person, when he realized he was lost, he was afraid to sleep.

[57:15] He would spend sleepless nights beside his bed, because he was afraid if he slept, that he would awake in a lost eternity. I am not sure how remaining awake would prevent that, but that is how he spoke of it.

[57:32] I remember another, his family thought he was having a heart attack, but it wasn't a physical heart attack, it was spiritual.

[57:50] And so this man was condemned by his conscience. The situation was grave, he was lost. How much he understood of what being lost meant, I cannot say, but it was enough to force the cry from his heart, SARS, what must I do do to be saved?

[58:12] If you are in Christ this morning, how much do you and I understand at that time of your life, except that you are required to be restored from your lost state?

[58:25] I think the question implies that in this situation an immediate answer was required, not a moment to be lost.

[58:36] He doesn't say to Paul, reflect on my question and give me an answer at your convenience in a week's time, or a month, or even a year. What he seeks is an immediate response.

[58:48] Tell me now. There is no time to waste. The very matter that until then had never troubled him, but now occupied the whole of his thought process.

[59:03] It was at the very forefront of his mind serves. What must I do? And you notice how he addresses them. It's as if he was now seen as prisoners in a new and a different light, and not as prisoners.

[59:22] Before now he saw matters. He was their master. He was their jailer. They were his prisoners. But now from the language used there is a world reversal.

[59:35] He would take the place of the pupil if they would but give an immediate answer to his most urgent question. He viewed them in a different light.

[59:49] Let me suggest, is that not how the professing members of the congregation appeared to you too who were when your sins were brought home to you and you were seeking salvation.

[60:06] The very people whom you had one time shunned, you wouldn't be seen dead in their company, were the very people whom you sought out.

[60:18] You felt at home in their company. What changed? Who changed? Was it them? Or was it you? Surely it is you.

[60:31] On account of the work of the Holy Spirit in your life, that's how it was with this man when he addressed them as sirs. And there's something else I ought to highlight from this significant question, what must I do to be saved?

[60:46] Note how he is thinking. It's as if he is fixated on the covenant of works. No, that's not altogether surprising. Why?

[60:57] Because that principle was placed in man from creation, this do and there. We are prone to think, if we do this or that or the next thing, we shall please God and be saved.

[61:12] But it is not the case because we broke the covenant. So it's not by doing that we have to be saved. That's the way you're thinking today.

[61:24] It will never happen. You're going to be most bitterly disappointed at the end of life. We can never earn salvation by our doing.

[61:37] You see, the answer to the question doesn't lie in the covenant of works, but in the covenant of grace. Listen again to the response of Paul and Silas to this most urgent question.

[61:51] note how concisely they reply, believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved and your household.

[62:03] They do not say to you need to be baptized to be saved. Nothing additional required. They place nothing before the mind of this man who was trembling with fear, but this, believe and you will be saved.

[62:18] a note in whom faith is to rest. It's not have faith in your face. That won't take you far, but believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

[62:33] As the late professor Roderick Finlayson stated in one of his writings, there in the prison yard, Paul uplifted the cross bearing Savior in the majesty of his threefold office.

[62:51] The Lord speaks of his authority and his great power. Jesus, the Savior of his people, Christ the anointed servant of God, and the gospel is set before us in these three words, the Lord Jesus Christ.

[63:12] And this one-time soldier who was a jailer, who had no time for God in his life, becomes another convert in Philippi.

[63:28] And did you note the dramatic change as a consequence of the change in his life? You find this one-time, unfeeling, unsympathetic person on bended knee, washing the wounds of God's servants with a hand as gentle and tender as a child.

[63:54] What a transformation. What a transformation. What a turnaround. Christ is in his heart and his life. He is a new creation.

[64:06] If you are here today in Christ, ah, to belong to Christ is much cause for thanksgiving and praise. You have been saved.

[64:18] You are on the road to eternal glory. But is that not true of you? Will you not come like he did, like this jailer, and not rest until you are knowingly united to Christ through faith in his name?

[64:38] Who could have thought that an encounter with a slave girl would have led to these events unfolding?

[64:51] To a slave girl being delivered from the dark powers that controlled her life, spurious accusations leading to imprisonment?

[65:02] Everything looked dark and gloomy. A sizable earthquake under the hand of God, leading to a significant question that resulted in the salvation of the jailer.

[65:21] May God grant that none of us be strangers to that power in our own lives. Let us pray. O eternal and ever blessed God's prayer.

[65:36] Although your providence can be so deeply mysterious and at times can seem so discouraging and so dark, yet even through such discouraging providence you can bring light good and life into lives that were in darkness and without life.

[66:03] Such is the nature of your dealings with the children of man. Bless a reflection on your truth, and the glory shall be thine. In Jesus' name we ask it.

[66:15] Amen. Let us conclude by singing to God's praise from Psalm 66 verse 16.

[66:29] Psalm 66 verse 16. All that fear God, come, hear, I'll tell what he did for my soul.

[66:41] I with my mouth unto him cried, my tongue did him extol. And we'll sing down to the end of the psalm. Three verses.

[66:51] All that fear God, come, hear, I'll tell what he did for my soul. All that fear God, come, hear, I'll tell what he did for my soul.

[67:17] I will with my mouth and give him die.

[67:28] I will my mouth and give him die.

[67:38] My tongue will hear at all. If in my heart I still regard the Lord me when!

[68:02] I will hear, will! I will I!

[68:12] hear, God, I will God, may hear, God, take, my prayer, for he hear, so let an heart appear, whoever whoever whoever nor yet to give from me.

[69:21] Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit rest on and abide with you all, now and forever. Amen.

[69:39]  Amen.