Good morning. Open up your Bibles to Acts chapter 16.
So I appreciate your prayers.
As most of you know, I have some pretty serious respiratory problems,
! and I am pretty short of breath this morning for various reasons.
So I'm going to obey a really good rule of preaching,
which is for the preacher to take comfort in the message that he's about to say.
So what I'm about to say from God's Word is even kind of what's encouraging me and sustaining me right now.
But I'm also going to disobey another preaching rule, which is read the whole text before you start.
But because this is a long text, I'm going to save myself the breath and just sort of walk through it with you.
A lot of Reformed pastors are like, no, read the text first.
But I'm just going to just walk through it with you, scene by scene, step by step.
Because it's a narrative, and because it is a narrative, it's pretty easy to do that.
So just join me in a word of prayer together.
Father, we gather together this morning only for you.
And I pray that if our hearts are divided, thinking about other things,
that you would convict us of that and bring us to a right understanding of yourself and the gathering of your people.
Just give us eyes to see, ears to hear this morning.
And I pray that you would have your way.
And Christ would be seen.
In his name, amen.
So we're in Acts chapter 16.
And Nathan did a really good introduction to last week about going,
Paul and some other of the apostles going into Europe and kind of landing in Macedonia.
So I'm going to try my best not to go over to some of the same ground.
But those of you who know me know I can't resist sometimes because there's so much awesome history in all of this.
But I just have this picture, you know, like of Paul and Silas and some of the other apostles just sailing over,
you know, in a boat, like ready to invade Europe with the gospel, sailing across the Aegean Sea.
In the Aegean Sea, you've seen a ton of invasions.
The Greek invasion of Troy, the Persian invasion of Greece, the Roman invasion of Carthage.
All happened like right there.
Now, this is like the greatest of them all.
Now, this is Christ sending his people to invade like the pagan land of Europe.
I just love it.
So it's this idea of our Jesus, the Jesus that we love kind of clashing into the world of Greek mythology and Rome
and just ready to take it down.
So I love that.
Just a picture of him invading Europe, not with natural weapons,
but really the weapons of prayer, the gospel, the word of God, sacrificial love is what his weapons are invading this.
And why is this a big deal?
So I'll tell you, for not all of us in here, but for most of us,
I would dare to say that most of us come from a European descent.
Most of our ancestors were from Europe in some way or another.
Not all.
But I want you to see this as grace.
Why?
You ever stop and ask yourself, why didn't the gospel not go east instead of west?
And this means that, like, the people that most of us descend from heard the gospel, our ancestors.
And then ever since then, a lot of the time, it's been moving west.
It came from Europe to America to South America.
Now it's wheeling back around and hitting Asia again.
But God and his providence for some reason chose to comport the gospel message through Greco-Roman culture.
And at this time, the Roman Empire was in three, arguably four continents at the time, including Africa, Asia, and Europe.
And now Paul taking the gospel to Europe.
And as Nathan mentioned last week, it kind of started in Philippi, a Roman colony in the heart of Macedonia.
And as he said last week, and again, I'll spare you all this, it was Philip of Macedon II, Alexander the Great's father,
who the city was named after.
And it was very much about as Roman as you can get.
In Philippi had an amphitheater, a forum, an acropolis, which is like a fortified hill, an agora, a marketplace.
So it was like a very picturesque.
They called it the Little Rome.
So it looked very much like that.
And settled by a lot of soldiers that had been discharged from service after the battle from Octavian or Caesar Augustus against, you know, Anthony and his baby cakes, Cleopatra.
After that, like a lot of them, went and lived in Philippi.
So there was a lot of strong Roman people in this area.
And as he said last week, there probably wasn't enough Jews there to actually even form a synagogue.
So that's why we saw them going to the river to pray and to gather.
And through his mercy, God saved Lydia and some others that were there with her.
And so this is a great setup.
So they just kind of stay there and they're kind of continuing their ministry in Philippi.
And this is where we'll get into our text.
Just join me and look at verse 16.
Excuse me.
So, sorry.
We're going to break this up in like three different scenes, if you would, of a story.
But scene one is we're going to see in verse 16 through 24.
Scene one is the predicament.
There's so many predicaments that we face.
So this is the predicament, 16 through 24.
It says,
And she kept doing this for many days.
Paul, having become greatly annoyed, that's my favorite Bible word, by the way,
hacked off, perturbed, turned around and said to the spirit, so not the girl, the spirit,
and said,
I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.
And it came out that very hour.
So great news, right?
I mean, like deliverance.
An amazing thing.
Nope.
Bad news for Paul and Silas.
But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone,
they seized Paul and Silas,
dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.
And when they had brought them to the magistrates,
they said,
These men are Jews,
and they are disturbing our city.
They advocate customs that are not lawful for us Romans,
as Romans to accept our practice.
The crowd joined in the attack,
in attacking them.
Excuse me.
And the magistrates tore their garments off of them,
and gave them orders to be beaten with rods.
And when they had inflicted many blows upon them,
they threw them into the prison,
ordering the jailer to keep them safely.
Having received this order,
he put them in the inner prison,
and fastened their feet in the stocks.
So, you have Paul and Silas just sort of going about their daily routine.
They're there to love.
They're there to serve.
They're there to deliver the gospel message in a peaceful manner.
They're there with God's direction.
God sent them there, if you remember that.
He sent them to this area.
They're there with His authority,
His power.
They mean no harm, only good.
And they're on their way.
You know, they just get up in the morning,
on their way over to the river,
to spend some time in prayer together.
You know, birds chirping, sun shining.
You know, a great, great morning to be alive.
And on the way, they meet this slave girl,
who was possessed by a demon, more likely.
And this slave girl,
the word for divination here,
is the word python.
And so, it was a picture of,
you ever heard of the, in Greek mythology,
the oracle, the Delphic oracle,
where a lot of the Greek kings and Greek generals
would send their people to find out
they were going to have victory or defeat in battle.
So, she was from this area.
And python really was the name of this dragon
or serpent that guarded the Delphi oracle.
And, at least in Greek mythology,
the god Apollo had come and slain this dragon
or slain this snake.
And now he spoke through the Delphi oracle.
So, it was seen as a,
she had a spirit of prophecy.
But make no mistake,
this is a deep, dark,
ancient, pagan, demonic practice
that she was involved with.
It's this idea of soothsaying,
fortune-telling.
I want you to know, guys,
that stuff's real, okay?
It's real, but it's not of the Lord at all.
This girl had this deep history.
And she was the new age lady ahead of her time.
She would have a 1-800 number today.
So, you should know, though,
if you're curious,
God's people have been forbidden
to deal with that kind of stuff.
Deuteronomy 18, verse 10,
1 Samuel 28, 8.
Yet, know that she has this real,
deep, dark, spiritual connection.
And that spirit in her
recognizes that these are servants of the light.
They weren't going around and saying this.
They weren't wearing Christian t-shirts
saying we're the apostles and we're here.
This spirit recognized who they were.
She had this spiritual connection.
These men are servants of the Most High God
who proclaim to you the way of salvation.
Isn't that awesome?
That dark, demonic spirit in her saw that
and was saying that?
She's like,
If you think I'm awesome
and my spiritual connections are great,
don't.
These men have the real answer.
These men have the way of salvation
and they're proclaiming it to you now.
So, this wasn't a really quick,
short introduction.
It says she kept doing this for many days.
So, all day Monday, all day Tuesday,
all day Wednesday, on and on.
And then finally,
it says that Paul became greatly annoyed.
So, hacked off.
He was just like,
Yes, we are servants of the Most High God,
but please just stop with the announcement.
And, kind of turns around
and just says to her,
Like, come out.
Commanded the Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ
to come out.
So, and she was delivered.
So, that's great.
I mean, awesome.
But at least you would think
all these great things are happening.
But then, turns around
and these slave girl's owners,
who've been making money off of her,
seek greedy and brutal vengeance
against Paul and Silas.
So, they were exploiting her.
Using her.
Isn't it interesting?
Stop and think about this.
Isn't it interesting throughout
the book of Acts particularly,
but the Bible in general,
that the desire for money,
success, profit,
always is working against the gospel.
You ever notice that?
Simon the Magician
in chapter 8.
Demetrius the Silversmith
in chapter 19.
Isn't that interesting?
This is another example.
The gospel is hurting their means
of making a lot of money
in a sinful manner.
So, they seek this vengeance on them.
It says they drag them
into the marketplace
before the rulers
and before the magistrates.
So, in Roman law,
like magistrates are put there
to carry out civil authority.
They were kind of like
the arm of Caesar
in the Roman provinces.
And there was two usually
assigned to each province
at this time
in the first century A.D.
And they,
these men lied.
They lied.
They bore false witness
against Paul and Silas.
They said,
these Jews
are disturbing us.
That word disturbing
means to cause an uproar,
like to cause exceedingly
great trouble, chaos.
Is that what they're really doing?
Not at all.
And they're advocating customs,
not lawful for us Romans
to accept.
So, understand that
in some degree,
Jews had kind of
already gained a reputation,
at least in the Roman Empire,
for people who don't want
to submit to the law of Caesar,
the rule of Caesar.
Not long after this,
Emperor Claudius,
he expelled all the Jews
from Rome.
That's in history books.
It's actually interesting
that soon in Acts,
like you actually see
that Luke says
that same thing.
Priscilla and Aquila
were kicked out of Rome
because they were Jews.
And,
basically saying,
these punks
aren't from around here.
They're bringing trouble,
this nonsense,
from Jerusalem.
And they're saying
all this stuff
against Rome.
And really,
that's not what they're doing
at all.
So then this unruly crowd
kind of joins in,
like, yeah,
like they're here
disturbing us.
And they kind of
join in the attack.
You ever just try
to go the extra mile
to love somebody
and to, like,
really sacrifice yourself
for their well-being,
then all of a sudden
they're, like,
coming at you with knives
and hating you?
So it doesn't stop there.
This fake trial
results in severe punishment.
So,
you ever thought about this?
I think about
Christ
and some of the other
apostles that we see
going through this kind of,
we tend to overlook this.
Do you know how intimidating
like an angry crowd
can be when they're
coming at you,
stripping you down,
yelling at you,
beating you down?
It's a scary,
traumatizing thing.
That's,
don't overlook that.
So they had that happen.
But then they were
beaten with rods.
What is that about?
So throughout
the Roman Empire,
magistrates
were followed around
by these little attendants
who carried these
bundles of sticks.
And
to kind of
serve as a
picture of their
authority from Rome.
And they would
beat people
with them.
So they were,
they took the wooden rods
and inflicted
not just
a couple,
a brief spanking,
but like
severe blows.
Inflicted many blows
upon Paul and Silas.
So it couldn't get worse,
right?
But it did.
After that,
they threw them
into the prison
and ordered the jailer
to keep them safely.
Put them in the
inner prison,
so not just
the nice,
you know,
prison with bed
and breakfast.
They're like the
inner dungeon,
the dark,
cold,
wet,
damp place
where the rats are.
and fastened
them in the
stocks.
So very
uncomfortable,
painful.
So wow,
like some swift,
harsh
justice,
but a
travesty of
justice,
injustice.
So,
think about this
later on,
like Paul says
in 1 Thessalonians,
we were shamefully
treated
in Philippi.
So imagine
just sitting there
in the stocks
and in the cold,
the dark dungeon,
just kind of
the shock
wearing off a little bit
and just sort of
sitting there
dealing with that.
So in their place
right now,
what would you be
thinking?
What would be
crossing your mind?
How are you
processing that
sitting there
in that dungeon?
Many of us
will be saying,
why,
oh Lord?
God,
can we just
kind of step back
and review the day?
Like we came here
with the best
of intentions
to love people,
to serve them,
to give them the gospel,
to lay our lives down.
You know,
you used us
to bring salvation
to Lydia
and her household.
You used us
to deliver
to a slave girl
from demonic oppression.
Now we don't even
have anything
but the clothes
on our backs.
And now that's
been taken
even away from us.
In case you
haven't noticed,
things down here
have gotten
really,
really rough.
So where are you?
What is going on?
We are here
on your behalf.
What is happening?
We've been falsely
accused.
We've been arrested.
We've been beaten
with our eyes.
Thrown into the dungeon.
Now we're cold
and naked
and lonely.
Why is this happening?
Ever been there?
So suddenly,
this great God
that we sing about
and that we proclaim
isn't so great anymore.
We've shrunk him down
to almost a little God
and we put him
across the table
and we say,
you owe me
an explanation
and this isn't right
and you need to fix it.
But arrogantly,
we seek to bring him
down on our level.
Not many places
to turn today,
but keep your hand
there in Acts.
Turn to Psalm 44.
Psalm 44.
And so I want you
to know
that
when you're going
through
suffering,
when you're going
through
difficult times
that you don't
understand,
I want you to know
it's okay
to ask God
why.
Okay?
But also be aware
that
it's really
the spirit
or the manner
in which we ask him
why.
Alright?
So,
this kind of stuff
is all over
in the scripture,
particularly in the Psalms.
But,
even in the Psalms,
you see
this
unshakable confidence
that even though
I don't understand
and I'm asking you
why,
I recognize
that you are still there
even though
I can't feel you there.
And I'm putting
my trust in you.
So it's a humble asking,
not an arrogant,
angry,
bitter asking.
So Psalm 44.
Look down at verse
14
and just picture
Paul and Silas.
Picture
your life.
So you have made us
a byword
among the nations,
a laughing stock
among the peoples.
all the day long
and shame
has covered my face
at the sound
of the taunter
and the reviler,
at the sight
of the enemy
and the avenger.
all of this
has come upon us
though we
have not forgotten
you
and we have not
been false
to your covenant.
Our hearts
have not turned
back
nor have our
steps departed
from your way.
So they're saying
like we've
trusted you,
we've followed you,
we're here,
we haven't left
yet you have
broken us
in the place
of jackals
and covered us
with the shadow
of death.
Jump ahead
to verse 23.
Awake.
Why are you
sleeping,
O Lord?
Browse yourself.
Do not reject
us forever.
Why do you
hide your face?
Why do you
forget our
affliction
and oppression?
For our soul
is bowed down
in the dust.
Our belly
clings to the ground.
So here it is.
Rise up,
come to our help,
redeem us
for the sake
of your
steadfast love.
So even though
they don't understand,
they're asking why,
at the very end
they say,
redeem us
for the sake
of your
steadfast love.
Rise up
and come
and help us.
So,
we've all been there,
some more than others,
and you will
before you breathe
your last.
You'll ask why.
So,
this leads
to the second scene,
number two,
scene two,
the deliverance.
Back in Acts,
back in Acts 16.
You see this
in verse 25
through 34.
So,
about midnight,
Paul and Silas
were praying,
and he's like,
yeah,
I'll be praying too,
like God,
get me out of this,
here's how you're
going to fix it.
They were praying
and singing hymns
to God,
and the prisoners
were listening
to them,
and suddenly
there was a great
earthquake.
Wow,
amazing timing.
So,
the foundation
of the prisons
were shaken,
and immediately
all the doors
were opened,
and everyone's bonds
were unfastened.
And when the jailer
woke and saw
the prison doors
were open,
he drew his sword
and was about
to kill himself,
supposing that
the prisoners
had escaped.
Sorry.
But Paul cried
with a loud voice,
do not harm
yourself,
for we are all
here.
And the jailer
called for lights
and rushed in
with trembling
and with fear.
He fell down
before Paul
and Silas.
Then he brought
them out
and said,
sirs,
what must I do
to be saved?
And they said,
believe in the
Lord Jesus
and you shall
be saved,
you and your
household.
And they spoke
the word of the
Lord to him
and to all
who were in
his house.
And he took
them in the same
hour that night
and washed
their wombs,
and he was
baptized at once,
he and his
family.
Then he brought
them up into
the house
and set food
before them,
and he rejoiced
with his
entire household
that he
believed in
God.
So deliverance,
double meaning
deliverance,
not just Paul
and Silas,
physical
deliverance,
but this
man's and his
family's deliverance
from the
slavery and
death of sin.
So they
praised him
in their
pain,
right?
There's no
guarantee they
were going to
get out of
there.
They pretty
much set
themselves
ready to
die.
They just
went through
all that
oppressive
stuff,
and then about
midnight,
so I almost
just don't
want to
overlook that.
Think about
how Luke
could be
saying about
midnight,
you know,
that dark
hour when
the adrenaline
is worn
off and
you're just
sitting there
dealing with
reality,
you're thinking
over just what
happened.
praying,
probably
getting me
out of
this,
but no,
they were
praying and
singing hymns
to God,
right?
Amid their
suffering,
our brothers,
Paul and
Silas,
experienced this
overwhelming
presence of
the Holy
Spirit in
their lives
with this
great joy
that's
inexpressible.
Remember when
Paul was
writing to the
Philippians many
years later?
Peter, I
wonder if
he even
thought about
this experience
as he wrote
to them.
Can you just
hear him
praying?
It's been a
painful day,
Lord, but we
rejoice in
you, O
!
Lord, because
you are not
far, you are
near, so we
will not be
anxious for
anything, but
in everything.
We will turn to
you in prayer
and rejoice at
all times and be
thankful.
And now your
peace is
flooding our
souls.
Sound familiar?
Philippians 4,
4 through 7.
So, I
believe that
happened and
that just
kind of erupted
into praise.
It erupted
into glory to
God.
And then this
supernatural
earthquake
happened and
their chains
fell off.
So, quick
break and run
for it, right?
Nope.
They stayed
there.
and they
called this
Macedonian
jailer in who
was about to
kill himself
because his
punishment would
have been
death.
So, he
thinks, I'm
in trouble
either way.
I need to
go ahead and
take my life
which had been
seen as an
honorable thing
to do in
that culture
instead of
bearing the
shame.
And they
stop him and
say, wait,
stop.
We're all
here.
Don't harm
yourself.
So, this
proud jailer
came in with
just fear and
trembling, of
course, right?
And he took
them out to
his house and
then he
asked the
question, sir,
what must I
do to be
saved?
Not, well,
become a member
of the church,
be baptized,
and sign a
card, and
you're good for
the rest of
eternity, but
and go get
busy doing
things for
Jesus, but
believe in the
Lord Jesus and
you'll be saved.
God's
strong,
overwhelming,
powerful belief
and faith that
changes how you
live, not just
an acknowledgement,
but a deep
belief in your
heart that
changes how you
live.
And so, he
believed, he
gave his life to
Christ.
The jailer
washed their
wombs.
One of the
early church
fathers said,
the jailer
washed and
was washed.
He washed
them from
their stripes
and was
himself washed
from his
sins.
The whole
family ended
up believing
in the gospel
and they
rejoiced.
This really
is a cool
word that's
actually not
used in other
Greek literature
at all this
time.
It's not
mentioned
anywhere.
So it's
this idea
of deep
spiritual joy.
They
rejoiced.
Wow.
was then
scene three.
Number three,
the outcome,
verse 35
through 40,
the rest of
our story.
But when it
was day,
the magistrates
sent the
police,
that's an
American word,
sent the
police,
the popo,
let those
men go.
And the
jailer reported
these words to
Paul saying,
the magistrates
have sent to
let you go.
So they
actually went
back to the
prison,
right?
They sent to
let you go.
Therefore,
come out now
and go in
peace.
But Paul
said to
them,
they have
beaten us
publicly,
uncondemned,
men who are
Roman citizens
and have
thrown us
into the
prison.
And now
do they
throw us
out secretly?
No.
Let them
come themselves
and take us
out.
And the
police reported
these words
to the
magistrate.
And they
were afraid.
Yeah.
When they
heard that
they were
Roman citizens,
so they
came and
apologized to
them and
took them
out and
asked them
to leave
the city.
So they
went out
of the
prison,
visited
Lydia,
and when
they had
seen the
brothers,
they were
encouraged.
They
encouraged
them and
then
departed.
So the
magistrates
had a chance
to kind of
reflect on
what happened
and they
were in
serious
trouble.
So they
secretly
ordered the
release of
Paul and
Silas.
and why
Paul responded
this way,
we don't
exactly know.
Maybe they
thought,
the magistrates
thought,
they've
suffered
enough,
let's just
let them
go.
But it
seems like
they were
scared when
they found
out they
were Roman
citizens.
And that
terrified them.
So they
were just
like, hey,
just tell
them to
go.
Tell
them no
hard
feelings.
keep
this on
the down
low.
Kind of
go out
the back
door,
please.
We're
cool,
right?
Just that.
But Paul
says, no.
Let them
come
themselves
and walk
us out.
And I
want to
point this
out.
I don't
think this
was because
Paul was
angry and
seeking
vengeance on
them.
I think
he was
really
worried
about how
the church
and
believers
would be
perceived
in the
Roman
world.
He
wanted to
make
sure
that.
They
were
seen as
good
citizens,
as
people
submissive
to the
authorities,
not
troublemakers.
And so
he was
like, no,
you tell
them to
come and
walk us
out so
that everyone
will know
that we
were not
guilty of
the crimes
that we
were accused
of.
But Roman
law could
have permitted
Paul to
really
seriously
bring down
the system
on these
men.
Law during
the first
century protected
them from
punishment,
from
execution,
or even
torture without
trial.
So they
had even
the right
to appeal
to a
higher court
in Rome
itself,
which he
does do
later on.
Paul says
that he
was born
a citizen,
right?
So he
carried this
with him.
He wasn't
just a Jew,
but he was
a Roman
citizen.
So though
many believers,
right,
they didn't
want them to be,
many Jews were
considered as
troublemakers,
he didn't want
that stench
kind of carrying
!
on to the
believers in
the empire.
So that's
why I really
think that he
decided to
just kind of
let it go,
but not let
it go.
So exercise
your rights
as citizens
in America
underneath the
kingdom of
God,
underneath
mercy.
Don't just
say,
it's my
rights,
I'm going
to do it
anyway.
Think about
God's
purposes.
And then we
see the
church was
strengthened,
right?
Of course.
What a heck
of a story
that would
have been.
We're like
chilling at
Lydia's house
and Paul
and Silas
come,
you know,
really looking
rough,
and they
encouraged the
brothers.
And what a
story that
would have
been to
share with
the brothers.
So some
application from
our story.
When life
trials come,
and we're
tempted to
ask,
you know,
like,
why?
Oh,
Lord.
You've got
to remember
that we
are the
most finite,
short-sighted
creatures
imaginable.
We cannot
see tomorrow.
And
very limited
perspective.
And we're
tempted to
believe in
those moments
that God
is not
sovereign and
He's not
good.
Right?
I hope
you follow
my analogy
here.
But life
to us is
like,
most of
you,
some of
you may
know what
a mosaic
is.
It's like
a big
picture that's
made up of
a lot of
different smaller
pictures.
So when you
stand back,
you see
the whole
deal.
And life
is like
that to
us.
We have
these little
snapshots,
these glimpses
in the moment
that don't make
sense.
like, I
don't make any
sense of
what I have
right here
at all.
And in
those difficult
moments where
you have
those snapshots,
you have to
believe that
they do
fit into
God's
bigger picture.
And He's
always doing
that.
He's always
moving and
creating this
beautiful mosaic
that testifies of
His glory and
His grace.
So in moments
of doubt,
remember God's
providence,
that He works
all things,
after the
counsel of
His will.
Ephesians
1.11.
It says of
Jesus in
Hebrews 1.3,
He upholds the
universe by
the word of
His power.
So this
stuff did not
just happen
when God was
gone or on
vacation.
He ordained
it.
He allowed
it.
And we
always can't
just see it,
but just
remember the
word providence.
If you're
looking for a
good definition,
Puritan
pastor Ezekiel
Hopkins said,
Providence is
an act of
God,
whereby according
to His
eternal and
most wise
counsel,
preserves and
governs all
things,
and directs
them to all
their ends,
but chiefly to
His own
glory.
So know
that life is
not about
you.
It's not.
It's not
about me.
When you
really ponder
who you are
before God,
you will
realize you
have no
rights at
all.
And anything
you have is
only by His
goodness,
only by His
grace.
That keeps
me from
asking why
a lot of
the time,
because I
know I
deserve far
worse than
I have
gotten,
infinitely
worse.
So know
that when
you're living
in that
little picture
that God
is directing
all things
toward their
ends,
but chiefly
to the
glory of
His name.
so some
things,
maybe another
message on
this another
time,
kind of,
we could do
a whole
message on
what are
those things
that God
is always
doing,
no matter
what,
no matter
how,
what your
situation
looks like,
what is He
always doing,
we could have
a whole message
on that,
but just from
our story,
here's one
thing,
God is
always seeking
to receive
praise in
dark places.
Very easy
to praise God
right here,
and seeing
His excellence,
but when we
go through
dark places
and trials,
His supreme
worthiness is
really seen
in those moments
when we praise
Him and we
trust Him,
and we're
saying to
everyone around
us that this
isn't what's
controlling me,
God is
controlling me,
and I want
to show all
creation that
He reigns,
that He's
sovereign in
this moment,
and so when
you see Paul
and Silas
doing that,
they're praying
and seeing
hymns to
God,
who do you
think is
getting the
glory for
that?
Because all
the men,
it says the
men in the
jail were
listening to
them,
like what is
that about
down there?
Crazy.
So often we
look at God
and we want
Him to change
our what?
Our
circumstances,
but what's
cool is God
is often more
focused on
changing us
in the midst
of the
circumstances.
So look to
God when that
stuff happens,
take your eyes
off the
circumstances,
and He
either will
choose to
calm the
circumstances,
or He'll
calm you in
the midst
of the
circumstances,
usually what
He likes to
do.
So as we
praise God,
He changes
us, He
fills our
souls with
hope,
with joy,
with peace.
Just a few
more things
for you.
In those
little
snapshots,
God is
always seeking
to save
the lost
and bring
them to
salvation.
This might
be heavy
for some
of you.
God is
committed
to bring
salvation
to His
people no
matter what
it takes.
And He's
providentially,
He places
His people
in places
of suffering
and death
in order
to call
lost souls
into His
fold.
A Bulgarian
pastor in
1985 was
arrested and
imprisoned by
the communists
for preaching
to his
congregation.
His first
name was
Heristero.
This is
something he
said.
So when
they threw
him in
jail,
this often
happens to
believers.
They're
thrown in
jail and
they become
such a
nuisance
to the
jailers
and the
people in
there because
they continue
preaching the
gospel to
the jailers,
to those who
are holding
them captive
as well as
to the
prisoners.
And he
said this,
both prisoners
and jailers
asked many
questions and
it turned out
that we had
a more fruitful
ministry there
in prison than
we ever could
have had just
inside church
walls.
God was
better served
by our
presence in
prison than
if we had
been free.
I mean,
do we think
that way?
Let's see
what I do
with this
thing.
It's
sitting there
somewhere.
On your
bulletin,
there's a
quote by my
man,
Sinclair,
!
In
relationship to
this,
he said,
God doesn't
exist for
you and
for me.
Hear that.
But rather
God exists to
fulfill his
own glorious
purposes.
It is so
true in
scripture and
in the lives
of the
Christians of
whom we
read in
history that
what we see
God doing
is not just
for their
benefit,
but because
he wanted
to work in
them and
through them
for others.
And that's
what we see
here.
God will
even allow
death to
come to
someone who
belongs to
him if it
means reaching
others for
salvation.
If you think
that sounds
harsh, then
you need to
contemplate the
cross because
he allowed the
one he loved
the most to
go to the
smallest little
picture and
die on the
cross in
order to
bring you
and I
into salvation.
He is
dedicated to
saving his
people in
the hardest
and most
dreadful
places.
Jesus said
this in
John 6
verse 37,
all the
father gives
to me will
come to
me.
Whoever
comes to
me I
will never
cast out
for I
have come
down from
heaven not
to do my
own will but
the will of
him who sent
me.
And there it
is, this is
the will of
him who sent
me that I
should lose
nothing of
all that he
has given
me but
raised it up
on the last
day.
So Jesus
has come to
save his
people and he
will do it.
God is
always seeking
to do
good to
his people.
So God
isn't committed
to what you
want or you
think you
need.
He's committed
to giving you
only what is
good which
means what's
best for
you in
every situation.
So he's
not really as
concerned with
our temporal
joy or
our temporal
blessings.
He's more
focused on
eternity which
makes this
realm look
ridiculous.
And we know
our famous
Romans 8
28, don't
let that
verse become
too familiar
to you.
We know
that for
those who
love God
all things
work together.
That working
together and
just, they
just work
out.
It means
that God
is working
providentially,
sovereignly,
working those
things for
their good.
Right?
For those who
are called
according to
his purpose,
not our
purpose.
Fourthly,
and I think
lastly,
God is
always seeking
to point
to Christ.
Right?
Not just
in terms of
salvation, but
he wants to
show Christ
in all that
he does.
So Christ
went into
the smallest
snapshot of
life on the
cross, and
he cried out
to his
father, right?
Even Jesus
did this.
My God,
my God,
why have
you forsaken
me?
Yet,
he trusted
the sovereign
plan of
his father,
and in
that darkest
hour, he
said,
Father,
into your
hands I
commit my
spirit.
Yet,
as is the
story of
history and
the story
of the
scripture,
we see
what man
devises for
evil.
God uses
it for
good.
Genesis
50,
verse 20.
Ah,
this is such
a good,
I don't want
to get into
this too
much,
but this
is Joseph
talking to
his brothers,
but he
said,
what you
meant,
what you
designed,
what you
meant for
evil against
me,
God meant
it for
good.
Alright,
I want to
just explain
this just
briefly.
There's a lot
of talk out
there in
the church,
and by some
well-amending
people,
so I don't
want to,
I'm not
trying to
hate on
this,
I'm just
trying to
say that
right thinking
will change
how right
thinking about
God,
right thinking
about life
is important,
so it
doesn't just
mean,
think about
when a tragedy
happens,
what do you
hear on the
radio,
what do you
hear in the
news,
God didn't
want this
to happen,
but whoops,
like it
happened,
and now he
can come
around and
clean it up
and just
make something
good for
it,
we've kind
of heard
that,
right,
and it
sounds right,
but was God
caught off guard,
was he asleep,
like,
is he now
rushing to the
scene of an
accident,
trying to
clean it up
and hopefully
make something
good out of
it,
no,
and like this
text here
in Genesis
50 verse 20,
what you
meant for
evil,
like you
willfully
did this
for evil,
God
meant it
for good,
so last
night,
I was looking
up how to
pronounce this
Hebrew word,
and Kathleen
was like,
what is that,
because it
was like,
saying it
to me,
kashab,
the word
meant,
God
meant it,
it means
to plan,
devise,
calculate,
imagine,
or invent,
so it
doesn't mean
that God
was like,
oh shoot,
let me clean
this up,
it meant
that he
sovereignly
designed that
evil action
to work
against itself
for good,
and so you
see in
scripture the
willful,
sinful actions
of men playing
right into
what God
wanted
every single
time,
great reason
to praise
him,
Piper says,
people lift up
their hand
to rebel
against the
most high,
only to find
that their
rebellion is
in the
unwitting
service of
the wonderful
designs of
God,
even sin
cannot frustrate
the purposes
of the
almighty,
if you
think about
it,
most vividly,
most seen
clearly at
the cross,
right,
Peter says
early in
Acts,
this Christ,
he was
delivered up
according to
the predetermined,
definite plan
of God,
right,
these evil
men crucified
him,
but it was
according to
the predestined
plan of
God,
so you can't
fight God,
who just
turn your
own traps
on you,
every single
time,
plan A,
not plan B,
so keep
in mind,
just those
things that
God is
always seeking
to get
praise in
dark places,
he's always
seeking to
save the
lost and
bring them
to salvation,
he's always
seeking to
do the
best,
the good
to his
people,
and God
is always
seeking to
point to
Christ,
so let's
just ponder
that,
reality,
let's pray
together,
and continue
to worship
God.