Creekside Church, Sunday, November 22, 2020
How To Start A Revolution | The Way Jesus Changes People | Part 2
Locations & Times
Creekside Church
660 Conservation Dr, Waterloo, ON N2J 3Z4, Canada
Sunday 9:00 AM
Acts 16:19-40
When it comes to you and me finding and knowing and experiencing a relationship with God the initiator, the first mover, the one reaching out to us is ever, only, always God.
TWO KEY QUESTIONS WE HAVE BEEN ASKING:
"How did God touch the hearts of people to communicate his love for them?
"How did those people open up their hearts to respond?"
19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.
23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
Why does he say, “Sirs what must I do to be saved?”
Three Suggestions:
1. He heard the message the apostles were praying and singing about.
2. He was afraid of the judgment of the God they were singing about connecting their worship to the earthquake and realizing that he had offended that God.
3. He was referencing a common phrase spoken by people in that day about the emptiness they were feeling. “What must I do to be saved from this empty life?”
When the fulness of time had come, God sent forth his Son . . .
Galatians 4:4
The jailer asks what he must DO to be saved. Paul tells him believe in Jesus. You don’t have to DO anything it has all been DONE by Jesus. Just follow him, believe in him, trust in him and you will be saved.
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.
THERE ARE FOUR REASONS TO RECOGNIZE THAT THIS CONVERSION IS GENUINE
33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds;
1) He expressed genuine love for Paul and Silas by washing and anointing their wounds
then immediately he and all his household were baptized.
2) He was baptized in obedience to Jesus’ command. He publicly identified himself as a believer. This was a mark he took on himself.
34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them;
3) He showed hospitality as did Lydia.
he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.
4) He was filled with joy – having been ready to take his own life he now knows a great joy.
If Lydia was touched by God through the logical presentation of the gospel and the young demon-controlled girl was touched through a power encounter, then it appears that the jailer was touched through the experience of seeing and hearing Paul and Silas and how they lived out their lives and experiencing the earthquake. If these men trusted God like that and acted like that then he wanted that God to be his God. And it appears he opened the experience door to his heart/will.
35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.”36 The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”
37 But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.” 38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.
Acts 16:35-39
By leveraging his Roman citizenship Paul is raising his credibility and in turn the credibility of the new church. He was a Roman citizen. What was done to him and his beliefs was wrong. He is now able to give credibility to the new church in a way that silently leaving would not and he has established a measure of protection for the members of the new church family.
40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.
JESUS IS THE MOST BEAUTIFYING FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE.
These Three Were So Different:
RACIALLY. Lydia was from Asia Minor (present day Turkey), the Python Girl was Greek and the jailer was Roman.
ECONOMICALLY. Lydia was upper class, Python Girl was lower class, the jailer was locked in middle class.
SOCIALLY Lydia was an insider. Python Girl was an outsider socially. The jailer was limited socially.
SPIRITUALLY. Lydia was a spiritual seeker. Python Girl was demonically hostile. The jailer was lost and spiritually indifferent.
JESUS IS FOR EVERYBODY.
EVERYBODY NEEDS JESUS.
When it comes to you and me finding and knowing and experiencing a relationship with God the initiator, the first mover, the one reaching out to us is ever, only, always God.
TWO KEY QUESTIONS WE HAVE BEEN ASKING:
"How did God touch the hearts of people to communicate his love for them?
"How did those people open up their hearts to respond?"
19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.
23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
Why does he say, “Sirs what must I do to be saved?”
Three Suggestions:
1. He heard the message the apostles were praying and singing about.
2. He was afraid of the judgment of the God they were singing about connecting their worship to the earthquake and realizing that he had offended that God.
3. He was referencing a common phrase spoken by people in that day about the emptiness they were feeling. “What must I do to be saved from this empty life?”
When the fulness of time had come, God sent forth his Son . . .
Galatians 4:4
The jailer asks what he must DO to be saved. Paul tells him believe in Jesus. You don’t have to DO anything it has all been DONE by Jesus. Just follow him, believe in him, trust in him and you will be saved.
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.
THERE ARE FOUR REASONS TO RECOGNIZE THAT THIS CONVERSION IS GENUINE
33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds;
1) He expressed genuine love for Paul and Silas by washing and anointing their wounds
then immediately he and all his household were baptized.
2) He was baptized in obedience to Jesus’ command. He publicly identified himself as a believer. This was a mark he took on himself.
34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them;
3) He showed hospitality as did Lydia.
he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.
4) He was filled with joy – having been ready to take his own life he now knows a great joy.
If Lydia was touched by God through the logical presentation of the gospel and the young demon-controlled girl was touched through a power encounter, then it appears that the jailer was touched through the experience of seeing and hearing Paul and Silas and how they lived out their lives and experiencing the earthquake. If these men trusted God like that and acted like that then he wanted that God to be his God. And it appears he opened the experience door to his heart/will.
35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.”36 The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”
37 But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.” 38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.
Acts 16:35-39
By leveraging his Roman citizenship Paul is raising his credibility and in turn the credibility of the new church. He was a Roman citizen. What was done to him and his beliefs was wrong. He is now able to give credibility to the new church in a way that silently leaving would not and he has established a measure of protection for the members of the new church family.
40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.
JESUS IS THE MOST BEAUTIFYING FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE.
These Three Were So Different:
RACIALLY. Lydia was from Asia Minor (present day Turkey), the Python Girl was Greek and the jailer was Roman.
ECONOMICALLY. Lydia was upper class, Python Girl was lower class, the jailer was locked in middle class.
SOCIALLY Lydia was an insider. Python Girl was an outsider socially. The jailer was limited socially.
SPIRITUALLY. Lydia was a spiritual seeker. Python Girl was demonically hostile. The jailer was lost and spiritually indifferent.
JESUS IS FOR EVERYBODY.
EVERYBODY NEEDS JESUS.