WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.760 free. 00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:15.620 So if you have a Bible, perhaps you can turn with me to Acts chapter 16, page 1111 of the 00:00:15.620 --> 00:00:20.559 church Bible. As we continue to think about the personal work of the Holy Spirit, we're 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:28.280 recognizing today that the Holy Spirit works powerfully, and we see that in Macedonia. 00:00:28.280 --> 00:00:33.719 Yeah. It's interesting sometimes, I think, to take a step back to recognize that without 00:00:33.719 --> 00:00:42.480 the truths that we have here in Acts 16, we would not be here. Because what we have in 00:00:42.480 --> 00:00:50.740 Acts 16 is God the Holy Spirit directing church-planting mission in Europe for the very first time. 00:00:51.640 --> 00:00:57.820 So that we are here today in a Christian church in Europe with the gospel is by God's design 00:00:57.820 --> 00:01:03.159 and power. That's a great thing to think about. So it's true for us as a group, but it's also 00:01:03.159 --> 00:01:10.480 true for us individually. As we recognize the Spirit active in hearts and lives, transforming 00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:19.719 and saving, without His work, we wouldn't be here. We would never choose to be in church. 00:01:19.960 --> 00:01:26.060 We would never choose to follow Jesus. We would never know nor desire to be saved. 00:01:28.359 --> 00:01:34.460 Luke highlights for us the Spirit's powerful work in the mission of the church, and we need it. 00:01:34.459 --> 00:01:41.159 But there's a problem the church in every generation faces. In a previous generation, 00:01:41.339 --> 00:01:45.259 Francis Schaeffer diagnosed it this way. He said, 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:52.979 the central problem of our age is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ individually or corporately 00:01:52.979 --> 00:02:02.859 tending to do the Lord's work in the power of the flesh rather than of the Spirit. Working out of 00:02:02.859 --> 00:02:07.760 our own strength rather than working from the strength the Spirit provides. When that happens, 00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:15.580 the church can rely on the right strategy or the right technique. We can make it all about us and 00:02:15.580 --> 00:02:23.680 our powers of persuasion. We might be tempted to redesign the words of the gospel, to redesign worship 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:30.819 to what we think will be most effective in reaching our contemporaries. We can rest all of the work 00:02:30.819 --> 00:02:38.120 firmly on our shoulders and either feel really puffed up with pride or be overwhelmed by a sense of fear 00:02:38.120 --> 00:02:43.419 and weakness. And so Acts 16 is so helpful for us in this way as well. It pulls us back 00:02:43.419 --> 00:02:51.560 towards confidence in the Spirit and not confidence in ourselves. It points us towards the need for more 00:02:51.560 --> 00:03:00.539 prayer, not necessarily more programs. It invites us to listen to the Spirit and to be looking for Him 00:03:00.539 --> 00:03:08.539 to work. There's a lovely picture Jesus gives, a powerful picture Jesus gives of the Spirit in John 00:03:08.539 --> 00:03:15.539 chapter 3 as He's talking with Nicodemus. He says, the Spirit's like the wind. We can't see the wind, 00:03:15.539 --> 00:03:23.239 but we feel and we see its powerful effects. And those effects are various. You know when the wind blows, 00:03:23.699 --> 00:03:29.280 as it often has been, it generates the wind turbine, so we get our electricity. 00:03:30.519 --> 00:03:36.780 It brings the waves and the storms. It rattles our windows. The effects are various, but we see them. 00:03:38.039 --> 00:03:43.419 And what we see in Acts 16 is the Spirit working powerfully and in various ways, 00:03:43.419 --> 00:03:52.560 directing the mission of the church and saving people by grace. And as we gather together and 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:57.139 think about it, I want us to be encouraged as we recognize the Spirit is always working 00:03:57.139 --> 00:04:04.759 and that we'd be asking that the Spirit would be working. So the first thing for us to notice, 00:04:04.759 --> 00:04:11.859 and it's in verses 6 to 10, is that the Spirit works powerfully by directing His church. 00:04:11.860 --> 00:04:19.720 Two simple questions to ask of this text. First, who directs and how does that direction happen? 00:04:20.400 --> 00:04:25.379 Look with me at verse 6 and 7. We have Paul and his companions, and they're traveling. 00:04:26.500 --> 00:04:31.240 They traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from 00:04:31.240 --> 00:04:36.500 preaching the Word in the province of Asia. Then they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of 00:04:36.500 --> 00:04:41.720 Jesus would not allow them to. Okay, so who's directing? It's the Holy Spirit, also here known 00:04:41.720 --> 00:04:48.699 as the Spirit of Jesus. Luke gives us a significant reminder. He's done it all through his work. The 00:04:48.699 --> 00:04:56.519 Spirit is the agent through whom Jesus continues His ministry. The work of Jesus building His church 00:04:56.519 --> 00:05:05.680 continues now by His Spirit guiding His people. So we meet Paul, the apostle, and he had his plans. 00:05:06.500 --> 00:05:11.980 Maybe he wanted to go and visit some of the churches he'd already established to bring fresh 00:05:11.980 --> 00:05:19.279 encouragement, to bring more teaching. We don't know. But we do know that these aren't necessarily 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:26.120 bad plans. It's not wrong plans to want to go to certain places to preach the gospel. Paul had his 00:05:26.120 --> 00:05:33.160 plans, but he's learned to listen. He's learned to be sensitive to the Spirit, to submit, and to be 00:05:33.160 --> 00:05:39.800 flexible. Because Paul knows, and the church always needs to know, that it's Jesus' mission and not 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:46.260 ours. So that's who directs. It's the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of Jesus. But how does the direction 00:05:46.260 --> 00:05:54.460 happen? We see it in two ways, I think. First of all, sometimes the Spirit says no. And this can seem 00:05:54.460 --> 00:06:01.400 really surprising. Here is the Spirit saying no, as Paul and Silas want to continue on a particular 00:06:01.399 --> 00:06:10.419 missionary journey. A chance to share Jesus with people. The Spirit is wise. He's God. And He knows 00:06:10.419 --> 00:06:16.799 each person is limited. Paul, Silas, you and me, we can only be in one place at one time. And the Spirit 00:06:16.799 --> 00:06:25.379 has another purpose. He wants to use their gifts and their time, their energy, in a new way. Now, how did 00:06:25.379 --> 00:06:34.279 he say no? That's not clear. Was it an illness that stopped them in their tracks? Was it opposition 00:06:34.279 --> 00:06:40.139 from the authorities? We don't know. But the point is, they understand that God has closed that door. 00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:46.980 Paul is ready to trust God's wisdom, God's leading, willing to change direction. It's actually something 00:06:46.980 --> 00:06:53.620 we see in church history. One example would be David Livingston, you know, famous for his exploits 00:06:53.620 --> 00:06:59.860 in Africa. David Livingston really wanted to go to China for God. Ended up in Africa. William Carey, 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:04.420 famous for bringing the gospel to India, he really wanted to go to the Polynesian islands. 00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:11.980 It's a reminder. Planning is good, but we must always leave room for the Spirit. And we see that 00:07:11.980 --> 00:07:18.639 with Paul. So sometimes the Spirit says no, but then sometimes the Spirit says go. In verse 9, we have 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:25.740 that. During the night, Paul had this vision of a man of Macedonia begging, come over to Macedonia and 00:07:25.740 --> 00:07:31.740 help us. After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave, concluding that God had called 00:07:31.740 --> 00:07:40.620 us to preach the gospel to them. So the Spirit speaks through a vision. Again, a reminder that the Spirit 00:07:40.620 --> 00:07:48.019 is not limited in how he works. So the vision happens at night, the next morning, Paul shares 00:07:48.019 --> 00:07:55.019 it with his companions. They discuss together the significance, and they conclude God's design is 00:07:55.019 --> 00:08:02.680 that we take the gospel into Europe. And so what we have is, in the book of Acts, the Spirit directing 00:08:02.680 --> 00:08:10.120 his church as directed by Jesus and as Jesus promised. We see some wonderful, remarkable examples of that. 00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:18.120 In Acts chapter 8, the Holy Spirit leads a deacon by the name of Philip to go into a road in the 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:23.480 middle of the desert, where he will meet an Ethiopian man who's just gone to the temple to worship. He's 00:08:23.480 --> 00:08:30.280 reading Isaiah 53, all about the suffering servant, the Messiah. He doesn't know. Is this about Isaiah or 00:08:30.280 --> 00:08:38.759 somebody else? Philip is directed by the Spirit to share the gospel from Isaiah 53. In Acts chapter 10, 00:08:38.759 --> 00:08:47.860 we have a Roman man called Cornelius, and we have Peter each having visions, leading Peter by the 00:08:47.860 --> 00:08:53.360 Spirit to go to Cornelius' house to share the gospel. The gospel comes to him and to his household, 00:08:53.600 --> 00:09:00.799 and they receive the Holy Spirit. The book of Acts is full of this, working powerfully to spread the 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:07.639 good news of the good news of the Lord Jesus, to continue the work of Jesus through his church. 00:09:08.759 --> 00:09:16.319 The Spirit guides powerfully. The question for us to reflect on today is, how does the Spirit guide us 00:09:16.319 --> 00:09:25.059 today? And it's so important for us to recognize that the primary means that God speaks and directs 00:09:25.059 --> 00:09:36.339 his church is through the Word of God. The only time we know with certainty God is speaking a message to me 00:09:36.339 --> 00:09:44.000 is the Word of truth that we read in the Bible. And the Spirit helps to speak from God's Word to help us 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:52.839 to grasp God's love, to see the glory of Jesus, to have wisdom to know, how can I live in obedience? 00:09:52.840 --> 00:10:04.560 So if we want God to speak to us, we come to church. We read the Bible. There are other means, 00:10:04.680 --> 00:10:10.820 of course, that the Spirit uses, but they are secondary. So he can prompt us, like we see 00:10:10.820 --> 00:10:16.360 with Paul and his companions. Sometimes we can have that sense that this door of opportunity has 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:22.440 closed, but another one has opened. Perhaps we're talking with Christian friends, and we receive 00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:30.260 some good wisdom and insight and advice. Perhaps we feel led to pray, and that prayer leads to action. 00:10:30.900 --> 00:10:35.560 The Spirit is not limited, and he can prompt us in those ways, but we need to be careful 00:10:35.560 --> 00:10:43.420 not to attach the same level of certainty to those promptings or to our feelings as we do to the Word of 00:10:43.419 --> 00:10:54.159 God. That also means for the Spirit to speak to us. We need to be ready to listen, and that's a question 00:10:54.159 --> 00:11:05.839 of our character. By which I mean, am I ready, really ready, to let God be in charge, to let God's Word be 00:11:05.839 --> 00:11:11.139 applied to my life, even if it leads to a radical change of direction, something I may even find 00:11:11.139 --> 00:11:21.559 uncomfortable. Will I allow him and his Word to have authority? If we want the Spirit to be guiding us, 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:28.860 we need to be hearing and receiving the Word of God. We need to be living in a spirit of trust 00:11:28.860 --> 00:11:35.340 and submission to him as Lord and King. We need to be ready to make plans, absolutely, but to hold lightly 00:11:35.340 --> 00:11:45.700 to those plans. The Spirit is still pleased to guide and to direct the church's mission and the church's 00:11:45.700 --> 00:11:52.040 growth. If you were here last week listening to Derek, you would have heard that sense coming 00:11:52.040 --> 00:12:00.120 through. Yes, the five-year plan is there, but yes, listening to the Spirit. Because Acts 16 reminds us 00:12:00.120 --> 00:12:07.879 that it's God's timing, it's God's location, it's the people God has in mind that he is directing Paul 00:12:07.879 --> 00:12:17.120 and Silas to. And so we work, as the people of God, we work all the while resting and trusting in his 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:24.779 work. So what this means for us as a local church and for our calling as disciples is we need to commit 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:30.860 to being a worshiping community, to being a community that hears God's Word, to be a praying 00:12:30.860 --> 00:12:39.139 church. We need to be asking for help to live holy and obedient lives and to pray that God would guide 00:12:39.139 --> 00:12:48.159 us, give us wisdom from his words for each day and as we make our plans. Now, before we move from this, 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:54.220 I just want to pause to address a different guidance question just for a moment. Because as Christians, 00:12:54.220 --> 00:13:01.200 I imagine many of us have asked or perhaps are asking, what is God's will for my life? 00:13:02.540 --> 00:13:08.000 Perhaps we have an important decision coming up. We're thinking about our future. It often happens, 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:15.420 what's God's will? We want to know. Perhaps we find that we're faced with an abundance of choice 00:13:15.420 --> 00:13:22.620 and we've got anxiety. How do I know if I'm making the right choice? Perhaps we find ourselves delaying, 00:13:22.620 --> 00:13:28.240 wandering, never really settling to anything because we're always wondering, is this God's will? What's 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:36.159 God's will? I would recommend one book, Kevin DeYoung's book, Just Do Something. I was rereading it again 00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:43.779 this week. It's really helpful biblical wisdom. Just one or two things on that. For Christians, 00:13:43.879 --> 00:13:49.879 we should always remind ourselves, whenever we're thinking about God's will, remember that God is in 00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:57.259 control of all things. His will will always be done. God is able to work all things together for the 00:13:57.259 --> 00:14:04.439 good of those who love him, so we can trust, even as we face uncertainty. Secondly, to remember 00:14:04.439 --> 00:14:13.779 that God's will for us primarily is concerned with our obedience and with our holiness. 00:14:13.779 --> 00:14:22.319 We can spend a lot of energy and stuff that's not really an ethical choice. God wants us to direct 00:14:22.319 --> 00:14:28.799 our attention to make sure that we are being faithful, we are being obedient. But it is also true 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:37.019 that God does have a plan for each one of our lives, but he does not expect us to figure that out in 00:14:37.019 --> 00:14:47.139 advance. So we can rest, and we can seek wisdom, and then we can do something. God's will is not like 00:14:47.139 --> 00:14:56.000 walking a tightrope, where if we make one bad decision, we're done for. We trust him, we trust his words, 00:14:56.299 --> 00:15:03.399 we listen to good, faithful, godly people around us, and we act. Because the Spirit works powerfully by 00:15:03.399 --> 00:15:08.840 directing his church. If you have any guidance questions, I'd really recommend that book, or if 00:15:08.840 --> 00:15:13.759 you want to speak to me or one of the elders, we'll be happy to talk with you. But the second thing we 00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:20.939 need to see is that the Spirit works powerfully in saving people. This is from verse 11 to verse 34 00:15:20.939 --> 00:15:28.039 that we read. The section of Acts 16 is a real gift. Here we have the first church in Europe, a very 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:35.079 surprising group of members drawn together, a group that would never be together, except for the Spirit 00:15:35.079 --> 00:15:43.659 uniting them all to Jesus. This little section says to us, God's grace is amazing and transforming. 00:15:44.740 --> 00:15:50.759 It says to us, there's no such thing as a Christian type. Ah yes, that kind of person could be saved, 00:15:50.759 --> 00:15:59.500 because no one is beyond saving. Tells us the Spirit is not limited in how he brings new birth. 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:05.000 Talk to any group of Christians and you'll find different stories of how God led them to faith. 00:16:06.019 --> 00:16:15.179 Every testimony demonstrates God's powerful grace, and Acts 16 reminds us God loves to save people, 00:16:15.179 --> 00:16:23.459 to take people from darkness to light. So let's ask the Spirit to use these personal powerful stories 00:16:23.459 --> 00:16:30.819 to encourage us for our own faith, to encourage us for our mission, to challenge us on our own 00:16:30.819 --> 00:16:37.199 response to Jesus. As we see the Spirit at work in salvation in Philippi, we begin with the first story 00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:48.000 of the businesswoman Lydia. That's in verses 13 to 15. On the Sabbath, Luke and Paul and Silas and others 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:54.480 went outside the city gate to the river where we expected to find a place of prayer. So in a city, 00:16:54.560 --> 00:16:59.180 if there was not more than 10 men in that city, they weren't able to establish a synagogue, a place 00:16:59.180 --> 00:17:06.480 of worship, so it was common for people to go down to the river to pray. So here's a group of God 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:16.039 fearers. Lydia is described as a worshiper of God, verse 14. She is believing and she is behaving 00:17:16.039 --> 00:17:26.180 like a Jew. And then Paul comes to this group and he begins to speak. And whenever Paul speaks, we know 00:17:26.180 --> 00:17:33.640 that he is wanting to show people that what they are looking forward to from the Old Testament has been 00:17:33.640 --> 00:17:44.200 fulfilled now in Jesus. That he is God's promised Savior King. That God's kingdom is established by 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:55.080 Jesus, but that's a spiritual kingdom. The way into that is by the grace of God. It's through his death 00:17:55.079 --> 00:18:04.199 and resurrection. That there is forgiveness. There is a way home to God, and it's through trusting in 00:18:04.199 --> 00:18:14.339 the Lord Jesus Christ. And so as Paul preaches the gospel, we discover in verse 14 that the Spirit, 00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:22.639 the Lord, opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. So the Spirit is active in two ways. The Spirit is 00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:31.140 using Paul and his words powerfully. And then he's powerfully at work in Lydia's heart, opening her 00:18:31.140 --> 00:18:37.360 heart, opening the eyes of her heart so that the message about Jesus makes sense, leading her to 00:18:37.360 --> 00:18:45.020 believe and to be saved. And then leading her, verse 15, and the members of her household to be baptized. 00:18:45.600 --> 00:18:51.600 They have this sign of loyalty, this recognition that they've received the Holy Spirit, that they've been 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:58.500 washed free from sin. And then something else we see about Lydia in verse 15. If you consider me a believer 00:18:58.500 --> 00:19:07.459 in the Lord, come and stay at my house. We see her hospitality. God has welcomed her into his household, 00:19:07.619 --> 00:19:15.939 and she now opens her home to others. A wonderful response to God's grace. The Spirit's been working in Lydia. 00:19:15.940 --> 00:19:22.799 Second story, quite different, isn't it? Of a demon-possessed servant girl. 00:19:24.539 --> 00:19:31.620 I would suggest that when Luke puts this story in between the jailer and Lydia, we're invited to 00:19:31.620 --> 00:19:41.200 recognize that she too is saved and becomes part of the church. Verse 17, we meet this girl who's earned a 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:47.360 great deal of money for her followers, for her owners by fortune-telling. She had a spirit by which she 00:19:47.360 --> 00:19:53.180 predicted the future, and she's shouting, these men are servants of the Most High God who are telling you 00:19:53.180 --> 00:20:00.200 the way to be saved. Just as we see in the Gospels, in Jesus' day, the demons present a spiritual 00:20:00.200 --> 00:20:09.100 opposition to God's kingdom. And so as Paul is bringing the good news that Jesus is the Son of God who has the 00:20:09.099 --> 00:20:16.959 power to save, the demons work through this slave girl, probably to try and discredit the message by 00:20:16.959 --> 00:20:25.139 connecting Paul with the darkness. They're speaking a form of truth, but there's definite hostility, 00:20:25.259 --> 00:20:33.039 and we see that in the Gospels with those who are possessed by demons. And it leads Paul to speak. 00:20:33.740 --> 00:20:39.079 In verse 18, we have in the NIV that Paul became so annoyed, I think it might be more helpful to 00:20:39.079 --> 00:20:44.199 see. Paul became so grieved by her condition that he turned around and said to the Spirit, 00:20:44.679 --> 00:20:51.639 in the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her. Paul speaks with the power of the Holy 00:20:51.639 --> 00:20:59.259 Spirit, speaking directly to this evil spirit. And what do we see? We see Jesus' powerful name sets her 00:20:59.259 --> 00:21:06.799 free. We're being reminded of the mission of Jesus to directly confront spiritual forces, 00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:12.399 darkness, darkness, darkness, and sin. In this case, that have held this girl prisoner. 00:21:15.399 --> 00:21:28.339 But now she knows Jesus truly is the Most High God who has saved her in his death and resurrection. 00:21:28.339 --> 00:21:36.480 Third story, showing us the Spirit working powerfully and saving people, takes us to this Roman prison 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:46.740 officer, from verse 19 to verse 34. As so often happened to Jesus, as so often happens to his servants, 00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:56.799 hostile opposition begins to Paul and his message. It begins with those slave owners who've now lost 00:21:56.799 --> 00:22:08.839 their earnings. They then turned that into the claim that Paul is throwing the city into an uproar. 00:22:09.619 --> 00:22:16.759 This opposition then leads to them being attacked, being beaten, and flung into jail. 00:22:16.759 --> 00:22:25.460 The first time we meet our jailer, verse 23, after they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into 00:22:25.460 --> 00:22:30.759 prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them 00:22:30.759 --> 00:22:36.539 in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stalks. We meet a jailer who's more than happy to comply 00:22:36.539 --> 00:22:44.099 with this injustice. He is quite happy to inflict the maximum amount of misery that he can on Paul and 00:22:44.099 --> 00:22:52.399 Silas, chaining them in the dungeon, in the stalks. He is a jailer with no real sense of moral decency. 00:22:54.980 --> 00:23:03.139 Fast forward a little bit to midnight, and we find Spirit-led worship. Verse 25, about midnight, 00:23:03.259 --> 00:23:08.539 Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. Amazing. They've been treated so unjustly, 00:23:08.539 --> 00:23:13.799 but they're not cursing people. They're praising God. They're not groaning and complaining. Rather, 00:23:13.899 --> 00:23:20.839 they're worshiping and praying. And the prisoners are listening, and we would imagine the jailer is 00:23:20.839 --> 00:23:27.500 listening also. And then suddenly, verse 26, this earthquake hits. And then the doors fling open, 00:23:28.500 --> 00:23:34.339 and the jailer has a panic. He presumes there's going to be a great prison break. It's going to make the 00:23:34.339 --> 00:23:40.299 news. His superiors are going to find out he's going to be executed. And so he concludes, the only thing to 00:23:40.299 --> 00:23:49.799 do is to kill myself. And just as he's about to do that, Paul shouted, verse 28, don't harm yourself. 00:23:50.599 --> 00:24:03.059 We are all here. And then he asked that wonderful question. Verse 30, sirs, what must I do 00:24:03.059 --> 00:24:12.200 to be saved? Did he hear the shouts of the demon-possessed girl? Did he hear the songs in the night? 00:24:13.740 --> 00:24:20.200 Either way, he's asking this vital question, what must I do to be saved? And he gets the clear answer, 00:24:20.339 --> 00:24:28.599 believe that Jesus is Lord. Believe that he is God with the authority of God. He is the king, 00:24:28.599 --> 00:24:36.339 the king who came into this world to live a life of perfect obedience in our place, to then suffer and 00:24:36.339 --> 00:24:44.559 die for the sins that we have committed. To be punished by God so that we might not be punished. 00:24:45.779 --> 00:24:52.719 Then raise again, showing that God was pleased with the sacrifice, so that Paul could say to the jailer, 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:59.819 believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. The same message is true for us. 00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:08.339 Believe in the Lord Jesus, we are forgiven, we are saved, and we have life with God. And we see the 00:25:08.339 --> 00:25:15.640 remarkable transformation in the jailer's life. Verse 32, they spoke the word of the Lord to him and all 00:25:15.640 --> 00:25:21.400 the others in his house. At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds. 00:25:21.400 --> 00:25:27.460 Remarkable, from helping to cause wounds and make those wounds even more painful. Now he's washing 00:25:27.460 --> 00:25:33.980 Paul and Silas' wounds. Why? Because of the gospel. Because now he knows by the wounds of Jesus I've 00:25:33.980 --> 00:25:40.759 been healed. His response, he wants to care for Paul and Silas. And then, as to complete the circle, 00:25:41.160 --> 00:25:47.820 then he is washed. Immediately he and all his household were baptized. Again, a sign that Jesus has washed 00:25:47.819 --> 00:25:55.019 him from sin. And look at the change of emotions. Verse 34, the jailer brought them into his house 00:25:55.019 --> 00:26:02.599 and set a meal before them. He was filled with joy. Because he'd come to believe in God. Just a few 00:26:02.599 --> 00:26:08.879 hours before that, depths of despair, ready to kill himself. But now, there's this joyful feast. Why? 00:26:09.700 --> 00:26:12.980 Because he believes, because of the gospel, because of the joy of salvation. 00:26:12.980 --> 00:26:20.140 He's now enjoying fellowship with God. And he has joy as he shares fellowship with Paul and Silas. 00:26:20.860 --> 00:26:24.640 So he has a wonderful picture of Paul, the prisoner for Christ, who with the Spirit's power, 00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:33.039 he sets the prison officer free from spiritual chains. What can we take away from this, 00:26:33.579 --> 00:26:39.599 from these stories in Acts 16? Well, it should remind us that salvation is a work of God's grace. 00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:45.719 As we see that God, by his Spirit, is directing Paul's journey, his connections, his words. 00:26:46.679 --> 00:26:53.019 We see that same Spirit causing one at the riverside to be saved, one from the great crowd 00:26:53.019 --> 00:26:58.399 around Paul to be saved, one from the jail to be saved. We're reminded the Spirit moves where he 00:26:58.399 --> 00:27:04.439 pleases, and when he saves, it's by his grace. The Father who sent the Son to be our substitute and 00:27:04.440 --> 00:27:12.720 our Savior is the Father who sends the Spirit to open hearts. Not based on merit, but because 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:19.960 of the gift of grace. We also are invited to recognize that the Spirit brings a personal 00:27:19.960 --> 00:27:27.500 encounter with the living God. That's remarkable. Lots of people today would describe themselves as 00:27:27.500 --> 00:27:34.740 spiritual and are searching to connect with God. We have what people are looking for. 00:27:36.160 --> 00:27:42.859 It's found in knowing God in his Word, as God sends the Spirit to live in the lives of his people. 00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:50.720 And he works very differently in these personal encounters. For Lydia, it's like she has some 00:27:50.720 --> 00:27:55.460 information, but what she needs is more. She needs to know the Gospel. She needs to know Jesus as answer, 00:27:55.460 --> 00:28:00.299 and when she receives that, she believes. For the servant girl, she has a spiritual problem, 00:28:00.380 --> 00:28:05.100 a psychological problem, because she's been possessed, and the Spirit meets her at her point 00:28:05.100 --> 00:28:12.559 of need. For the jailer, it's a moral problem. He doesn't know what it means to be made in the image 00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:19.900 of God. He doesn't know his God, but they are all met by Jesus and all transformed. It's wonderful. 00:28:20.519 --> 00:28:25.440 It's wonderful to recognize that the Spirit is the one who makes people willing to receive, 00:28:25.460 --> 00:28:32.299 Jesus. No one is forced to believe. No one is forced to follow, but rather, everyone here freely 00:28:32.299 --> 00:28:39.559 chooses because the Spirit made them willing. The Spirit opened all of their hearts. 00:28:41.160 --> 00:28:48.319 Jesus says, no one comes unless my Father draws them, and that's true. But we also recognize, 00:28:48.460 --> 00:28:55.000 don't we, that there is a personal response. God works, but there's that response. We must believe 00:28:55.000 --> 00:29:06.440 in the Lord Jesus and be saved. And we also recognize this, that the Spirit works in such a way 00:29:06.440 --> 00:29:15.619 to save people and then to unify people around Jesus. Here are three people who are totally different, 00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:21.539 totally different socially and culturally. They'd never be around the same dinner table, 00:29:21.539 --> 00:29:28.460 but by God's grace through the mission of Jesus and the fullness of time. They will be around the 00:29:28.460 --> 00:29:36.339 Lord's table together, most likely at Lydia's house. Because Jesus is their new center. 00:29:37.899 --> 00:29:46.480 It's the gravitational pool of God's grace that connects them all together in Jesus. And that's great news for 00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:51.819 our mission. It's great news for us as we look around this room. We recognize that we come from 00:29:51.819 --> 00:29:58.120 different places and different backgrounds, but we can have real unity in the Lord Jesus and by His Spirit. 00:29:58.940 --> 00:30:03.880 And it's great news for us as we look out, as we look out into our city and its streets. We have this 00:30:03.880 --> 00:30:12.039 great task, but we have a great missionary God who still works by His Spirit, and He gives us His Spirit, 00:30:12.039 --> 00:30:22.680 and He sends us to be witnesses. He directs us into His Word, and then He directs us out to love our 00:30:22.680 --> 00:30:34.980 neighbors. The Spirit acting powerfully to bring the good news of salvation, because God loves to save 00:30:34.980 --> 00:30:44.880 men, men, women, boys, and girls, and all for His glory. Let's pray together. Father God, we thank You 00:30:44.880 --> 00:30:52.099 for the powerful personal work of Your Spirit. We thank You for the direction that He brings. 00:30:53.079 --> 00:30:57.860 Thank You that He speaks to us from Your true and living Word. Help us to be guided, 00:30:58.740 --> 00:31:04.839 to be led into holiness and obedience. We thank You that the Holy Spirit powerfully works to bring 00:31:04.839 --> 00:31:07.980 salvation. We thank You for every testimony.