Beyond Sunday
Welcome to Beyond Sunday, the Podcast that takes you deeper into the Word of God throughout your week, with your Hosts Pastors' Lee and Jim.
It's Time to Inspire, Uplift, and dig deeper. Beyond Sunday starts now!
Beyond Sunday
The Midnight Hour
What happens when truth and deception cross paths, and how should we, as followers of Christ, respond? In this enlightening episode of Beyond Sunday, we promise to uncover answers through the compelling narratives of Acts 16. Join us as we explore the intriguing encounter between Paul, Silas, and the slave girl with a spirit of divination, revealing the profound authority of Jesus over spiritual deceit. Through their story, we discuss the often unexpected challenges of true ministry and how societal pressures can sometimes valorize darkness for profit. Our conversation encourages us to persevere in our mission, trusting in the strength and guidance of our faith, even when the path seems strewn with obstacles.
The journey doesn't end there. We transition to the transformative power of God's grace seen through the unjust imprisonment of Paul and Silas, and the miraculous conversion of the jailer and his family. Reflect on the impact of unwavering faith and the simplicity of salvation through belief in Jesus. We delve into how trials can be catalysts for spiritual breakthroughs, affirming God's sovereignty and purpose in every season. Let this episode inspire you to share your faith boldly, rooted in trust that all things work together for the greater good. As ambassadors for Christ, we are called not only to endure but to shine brightly, illuminating the path for others in times of darkness.
Welcome to Beyond Sunday, the podcast that takes you deeper into the Word of God throughout your week With your hosts, pastors Lee and Jim. It's time to inspire, uplift and dig deeper. Beyond Sunday starts now.
Speaker 2:Hey, what's going on? Everybody? This is Pastor Lee. I'm here with Pastor Jim. We're the pastors of Christ Family Outreach Church here in Amelia, virginia, and can we just kick off today by saying, if you do not already have a good home church that preaches the Word of God, we would like to take this moment to personally invite you to visit us at Christ Family Outreach Church in Amelia. We're going to get right into the Word of God this morning, pastor Jim. We got a lot going on that we want to try to cover in a very short, limited period of time. So if you've got your Bibles, let's get there.
Speaker 2:Acts, chapter 16, beginning with the 16th verse, and this is when Paul and Silas are in prison. And if we had to title this podcast, we're going to title it the Midnight Hour. So here we go church, acts 16, 16. As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune telling. She followed Paul and us crying out these men are servants of the Most High God who proclaim to you the way of salvation. And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, I command you, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come out of her. And it came out that very hour.
Speaker 2:But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when they had bought 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, as Romans, to accept or practice. The crowd joined in attacking them and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
Speaker 1:Pastor, Jim, you want to take over right there, first of all, there's so much good text here and fasten their feet in the stocks. Pastor, jim, you want to take over right there, first of all. There's so much good text here and I can't wait to get through it all. But I want to start with verses 16 to 18, because as this passage starts, we learn that, you know, paul and Silas are going to this place of prayer and they met a slave girl who had this spirit of divination. And the slave girl. So, basically, what that means is she's possessed, right, by a spirit that gave her the ability to predict the future and it gave her a power that her owners exploited for financial gain. But notice what she was saying. She said these men are servants of the Most High God. Now, that's a true statement.
Speaker 1:But here's the problem. It said Paul got annoyed and really I think he got distressed because it wasn't coming from a place of genuine worship. Right, so many times the enemy will mix truth with deception. Right, these men are servants of the Most High God. But that is a true statement. But it was coming from a place of deception. And it reminds me of 2 Corinthians, 11, 14, when Paul says, and no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. See Paul, in the authority of Jesus. He commanded the spirits to leave her, demonstrating that there's power in Christ, and he will overcome all spiritual opposition.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, paul and Silas man, they'd done nothing wrong, right, they were doing what we as Christians should also be doing even today. They'd seen someone who needed hope desperately, and you know they were being annoyed by what was going on here, and so they're going to offer hope to someone who really needs it, right? So the problem, as you mentioned, pastor Jim, the problem was that the men saw, as verse 19 puts it, they saw that their hope of gain was gone. And even today I want to point out, even today there are people, there are companies, there's corporations who push darkness simply for financial gain. So much of today's music, today's movies, video games they're pushed not because they do us well, not because they offer fruits that would glorify God, but these companies, these corporations, this music, the video games, as I mentioned, they push darkness and really it is to make gain and profit for the companies that are producing them and pushing them out. The 22nd verse, if we could just look at that for a moment, the 22nd verse says and when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. And the 24th verse says so.
Speaker 2:I'd like to point something out just quickly to the listeners True ministry doesn't always look the way you think it's going to look. Right when these brothers, when Paul and Silas, you know they're trying to do something nice, really, at the end of the day they're sitting this lady free, right. They did nothing wrong. They've done nothing wrong. So true ministry doesn't always look the way that we've prayed about it to look or the way we think it's going to look, the way we feel it's going to look. It's not always going to look like somebody else's ministry either, Pastor Jim. So it's not always going to seem the way that we think it's going to seem. However, true ministry never stops, and you know, I just want to make a point to that True ministry never stops. So, no matter where we find ourselves, no matter how comfortable or how uncomfortable we are, we always have to remember that we are ambassadors for Christ.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and sometimes, following Christ, it means suffering unjustly. Right, that's right. Jesus tells us in John 16, 33, that you're going to live in a world that has tribulation, but take heart, right, I have overcome the world. So, even in chains, paul and Silas, they had a choice. They were working in ministry, they were doing nothing wrong, but they were thrown into prison. They had a choice Despair. Woe is me, right man, this stinks, I don't want to do this no more. Or worship. And what was so amazing is they chose worship. And I love that?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, brother. I use the term ambassadors for Christ, and Paul talks about that in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 20. And Paul talks about that in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 20. And Paul writes therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, god making his appeal through us, so that ministry doesn't turn off simply because the room gets dark or the room gets ugly. We're an ambassador all the time. Amen, all the time. Amen, all the time. So, as a matter of fact, paul continues in the 20th verse and says we implore you, on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. So Paul is letting us know everyone must be reconciled to God. Scripture calls it the ministry of reconciliation. To be reconciled with God means to be made right with God. So we get right with God through his son, jesus Christ, by accepting him as Lord and Savior, and our sins are forgiven. And we must let everyone know it, pastor Jim, we've got to let everyone know it that, even when it's uncomfortable to do so, we've got to let everyone know that there is a greater hope offered to them through Jesus.
Speaker 1:Amen, that's exactly right. You know, one of the most powerful moments in this whole passage comes in the next couple verses. And in verse 25, the Bible says about midnight, paul and Silas, they were praying and they were singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. I mean, can you imagine You're beaten, you're wounded, you're chained, you're in the darkest part of the prison, yet you still praise God? You know, psalms 42.8 says by day, the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. And you know, something incredible happens through their worship.
Speaker 1:In verse 26, it goes on to say and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all of the doors were opened and everyone's bonds were unfastened. Now, look, this is not an ordinary earthquake, right, god has intervened supernaturally. It says that the doors flew open and their chains fell off. Now, I don't know if anyone's ever been through an earthquake before, but I'm pretty sure shackles just don't fall off, right. And you know, in Isaiah 61, it says he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty and to the captives. And in the opening of the prison to those who are bound.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know I put it like this. They were down but they were not out. That's right. They're in the inner cell, which means there's going to be no windows. They've got feet in chains, they've been beaten, but still they find themselves able to worship.
Speaker 2:You know, sometimes I think about this passage of Scripture, man, and you know I'll ask myself you know, hey, what's my problem? Right, like, what's got me down and out today? You know, they treated these guys like they were the worst of the worst. That's why they were instructed to put them in the inner cell, so they would have no possible hope of escape. And can I just say, if you're listening to this and you feel like you're in the inner cell, maybe you're at a point in life where you feel like you've got no hope, there's no light coming through your window in life. Right, I just want to encourage you that God can bust you out of that inner cell, just like he did Paul and Silas, so you may be able to lock us up, and this is basically what Paul and Silas are kind of going through right here. Right, you may be able to lock us up, but you cannot and you will not silence our praise.
Speaker 1:And it was the lack of silencing the praise that gets us to our next point, the jailer's salvation. You see, the jailer, once the earthquake happens, assuming that all of the prisoners had escaped, was just about to take his own life. But Paul stops him and says hey, don't harm yourself. Right, verse 28,. Don't harm yourself, we're all here and, overwhelmed, the jailer says, sirs, what do I have to do to be saved? Right, they were offering hope through their suffering. And Paul's response is one of the clearest presentations of the gospel message. He says believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household. And it was that very night that the jailer and his entire family believed and were baptized. And that is such a beautiful picture of God's grace. And Romans 10, such a beautiful picture of God's grace. And Romans 10, 9 says simply this if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe it in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Speaker 2:Glory to God. You know, if you're taking notes, I want you to write this down. The other prisoners were listening. I mean, that's huge. That's the reason they didn't leave, right? They know that this just isn't some you know event that has just happened to take place, right? This isn't a happenstance type of event. This is the hand of God. This is something powerful taking place here. The prisoners were listening.
Speaker 2:So here's a question to all of you that are listening today what do people hear from you, words or actions? What do people hear from you, words or actions? What do people hear from you when they look at your life, when they experience you throughout the day? What are they hearing from you? What do people hear from you when things are not going the way that you wanted them to go? Not just when everything's positive, not just when you're at the top of the mountain. What are people hearing from you 24-7?
Speaker 2:If we back up just a piece, pastor Jim, the 26th verse tells us that everyone's cell doors were open and everyone's bonds were unfastened. But here it is, but no one left. So why would you want to leave after all of that just happened? You know, because when I read this passage, I think about that. You know, like I hear Paul and Silas, I hear them worshiping. I know things haven't been going their way for them. This is why they're in there and they're worshiping.
Speaker 2:At about the midnight hour and through this worship there's an earthquake so powerful that not only the doors fling open right, but our shackles just came off. Like I'm not leaving that church service because I don't know what's happening next, brother, like I don't know if people consider that or not, but I'm not going nowhere. I want to hang around and see what happens next. And that's why I don't like missing church man. I don't want to miss church because, lo and behold, the day I miss church, it's going to be the day that, like God just shows up in an amazing way and Shekinah glory falls and everybody's in this holy hush, this holy all moment, and we're just hanging around and before you know it, we've, we've been there, it's four o'clock, who knows man? But I don't want to miss, and I think that's what these people were doing in the cell. They didn't want to leave because they're having this moment like what in the world is about to go down next.
Speaker 1:And doesn't Paul and Silas' actions speak to their faithfulness, even in their circumstance? And I love how God is faithful even when we're not. But even in this moment, when they are faithful, god rewards that faithfulness, because if we continue on into the story, in verse 35, it says the next day the magistrates tried to quietly release Paul and Silas, but Paul refused to leave without a public acknowledgement of their wrongful treatment, and he reminded them that he and Silas were Roman citizens, meaning that their punishment was illegal. And so, after their release, they returned to Lydia's house and encouraged the believers there, and then they departed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know believers there, and then they departed. Yeah, you know, acts 16, 27, and 28, we really see the extension of God's grace, you know, before we touch on that for a moment, I'd like to kind of just bring up a thought to what you just said, pastor Jim. Paul and Silas, right, I mean, how about let's just take a minute and look at these two brothers truly trusting God, right, like they shouldn't be there, right? At least that's the way it should appear. Right, they didn't do anything wrong, so why are we here? But they understood what's going on. They're being persecuted because of the Lord that they serve, jesus Christ.
Speaker 2:So one would think that when the doors blow open of their cell, the inner cell, the chains, the stocks come off of their ankles, right, you would think that they would be up and say I'm out of here, let's go. Yeah, like there's a revolt happening, I'm out of here, right, but but they're hanging in and let me just tell you write this down If you're taking notes, god's in control, you know. So, like to them, at this point in Paul and Silas's life, this type of power has become normal. You know, like I don't think Paul and Silas is surprised at this. It's kind of like okay, that's my father type moment. You know, like that, that that's my father. You know, my Lord has showed up yet again for me in provision.
Speaker 2:But getting to Acts 16, 27 and 28, it says this when the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice do not harm yourself, for we are all here, man. What an extension of God's grace to the jailer. Right. And Romans 5.10, jot that down if you're taking notes, friends. Right and Romans 5.10, jot that down if you're taking notes, friends.
Speaker 2:Romans 5.10 reminds us that we too were once enemies of God, but God reconciled us. We were made right with God through his son and the finished work that Jesus Christ did on the cross for us. So every one of us that have received Jesus Christ, every one of us guess what? Daily we also receive the grace of God. And for our listeners that don't understand the difference between mercy and grace, let me just quickly remind you mercy is us not getting what we do deserve, and that is punishment for our sin right. Grace is us getting what we do not deserve Grace. I say this grace has a name. His name is Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:Amen, amen. So Acts 16,. Really, we got four major points from this, first being spiritual opposition is real, but Jesus has all of the authority right. And just as Paul cast out the spirits in Jesus's name, we can stand firm against spiritual attacks as well. And then, secondly, you know, worship has to be done no matter what, even in our darkest moments. That's right. So, paul and Silas they chose to praise God even when their life was hard in the moment.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, pastor. Jim, you touched on these verses but I'd like to read them real quick. Acts 16, beginning with the 29th verse, says this and you will 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 the same hour of the night and washed their wounds and he was baptized at once. He and all his family Praise God. Verse 34 says then he bought them up into the house and set food before them and he rejoiced, along with his entire household, that he had believed in God.
Speaker 2:And there's a point that I want to make in this brother From an uncomfortable, dark, ugly, unfair situation comes salvation. So when ministry didn't look the way, maybe we think ministry should look. When ministry may be painful at times, maybe dark at times, uncomfortable at times, maybe it seems like we're lost. Right, we've got to trust God, even when trusting God doesn't make sense in the moment. So from all of the ugliness right from them having their clothes torn from their backs, right from them getting beaten with the rods stricken by these people, okay, from all of this not just the jailer gets saved, but the entire household gets saved and gets baptized.
Speaker 2:So if you're listening to this right now and there's someone sitting next to you, I want you to tell that person right there, right now never give up. Just encourage someone in the Lord today to never give up. And if you do not have someone sitting with you right now, you will at one point today. I'm believing that and I want you to encourage someone, whether it be in person or even if it's over the phone, even if you jump on your social media platforms. I want you to take a moment and just encourage people. We're going to charge you with that today. Get on your social media platforms and encourage people with those three words Never give up.
Speaker 1:Because God works through suffering. The prison was not a setback. It was a set up for the jailer's salvation. Even our trials have a purpose, and then you know what Salvation and I just really feel led to share this salvation period is by faith in Jesus alone. Amen, brother, the jailer wasn't told to perform some kind of ritual man, it was simply believe in Christ, and so this is just a powerful testimony of God's sovereignty, and whether we're facing opposition or suffering or uncertainty, it's this passage that reminds us that God ultimately is in control, and he can use any situation for His glory, and he can use any situation for the gospel to be spread.
Speaker 1:So we want to thank you for joining us today for the Beyond Sunday podcast, and if this episode encouraged you, we'd like you to share it with a friend. And don't forget to subscribe for more of these studies. So until next time, stay rooted in the Word of God and behold your faith. Father, thank you so much for your Word. Help us trust you in every season, knowing that you are working all things for good. Give us a boldness to proclaim the gospel and the faith to praise you in all circumstances In Jesus' name, amen.
