[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on the 28th of September, 2014.]
At the risk of anyone falling asleep, please close your eyes for a moment. I want you to think back to a time when you were really suffering, when you hurt possibly the worst you’ve ever hurt in your life, when you hurt physically, emotionally, or both. You’re probably like me and can remember many such times. But like me one probably stands out more than the others.
Remember that time for a moment, reflect back specifically on how you felt, the emotions you experienced. And as you think of that time, hear the account of Luke in Acts 16 verses 22 through 31 as he describes one such time for Paul and Silas…
Remember that time for a moment, reflect back specifically on how you felt, the emotions you experienced. And as you think of that time, hear the account of Luke in Acts 16 verses 22 through 31 as he describes one such time for Paul and Silas…
22 The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. 23 When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; 24 and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26 and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. 27 When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” 29 And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
--Acts 16:22-31 (NASB)
Let us pray... Father in heaven, we are humbled in Your presence. We gather this morning in the name of Jesus Christ to worship You. We assemble near His cross to hear Your word and receive Your message as Your Holy Spirit works among us. Father, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of each of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. In the blessed name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
A man was traveling down the streets of a large city and stopped at a traffic signal. He happened to glance off to his right and spotted two boys fighting in an alley. One boy was quite a bit bigger than the other and was consequently knocking the tar out of the little fellow. He would punch the smaller boy and blood would fly from his nose, but the little guy would get right back up just to wind up on the receiving end of another punch. The man decided he had to intervene. He pulled his car over and ran into the alley, yelling for the big boy to quit beating up the smaller one.
But it was the little fellow who responded. He said, “Hey mister, mind your own business! I ain’t got my second wind yet, and when I do, I am gonna clobber this guy!”
You can’t lick someone who won’t stay down. Proverbs 24 says, “A righteous man falls seven times and yet rises up again.”
[From 1001 Humorous Illustrations for Public Speaking, “Getting Ready to Win”, #673, p. 257.]
That pretty much describes Paul, except he was knocked down far more than seven times, but he kept getting right back up again. I asked you to remember a time of great pain, not because I wanted you to suffer but to allow you to better feel what Paul and Silas must have felt in that situation Luke recorded for us.
Once again, the crowd turned against them. The civil authorities ripped off their robes and had them beaten, severely, with “many blows” as Luke put it. This type of beating would have been very similar to what we hear about in some Asian countries like Thailand, where caning is used as a punishment. Not only would Paul’s and Silas’ backs have been extremely sore and bruised, the skin would very likely have been torn open in shallow but long cuts.
Then they were thrown in prison and shackled to the floor. The front of your bulletin gives you a pretty good idea of how they would have been held. The jailer was ordered to guard them securely, and this would have fit the bill. Effectively they’re sitting on the floor, with their legs spread slightly apart and their ankles clamped to the floor where all they can do is wiggle their feet. If you ever tried sitting on the floor for a while, you know it doesn’t take too long before your rear end and the small of your back get tired and sore. When Paul and Silas reached that point, and any of the other prisoners for that matter, the only way they could find any relief would be to lie flat - on that cold, damp, dirty stone floor, on their bruised, sliced, bloody backs.
That’s what I wanted you to be better able to feel when I asked you to think back. Rejected by the very people they were trying to help. Humiliated, dejected, abused by those in authority. Their backs burning from the brutal punishment. Unable to move much except to lie back on those same pain-filled backs.
In your situation of your memory, were you very happy about it? Did you rejoice in the moment? Paul and Silas did. What does it say in our scripture, in verse 25?
About midnight… well, we don’t know exactly when all this transpired, but some amount of time must have passed because the chief jailer had put out the lights and gone off to sleep. So Luke says that around midnight Paul and Silas could be heard “praying and singing hymns of praise to God”.
Is that what you did, in your time of great pain? I bet you did some praying, but how about singing God’s praises? That’s a good description of rejoicing, isn’t it: singing hymns of praise to God?
That isn’t to say that they were very happy about their situation – I don’t see how they could be. I would have probably been holding a pity party had I been there with them. “Oh poor me! Chained to this floor! I hurt so much and can’t get any relief! Oh God why did You let this happen to me?!!?”
But these two were holding a prayer meeting and praise session! They were rejoicing! They were praying and singing praise to God, loud enough that the other prisoners could hear them, around midnight, in that cold dark cell.
Depending on the version you look into, our New Testament uses the words “happy” and “happiness” about 30 times. Luke sure didn’t use either here in describing Paul and Silas. Happiness tends to be fleeting and depends on earthly, worldly, external factors – things like fortunate circumstances, other people, or our current station in life.
The words “joy” and “rejoice”, on the other hand, appear in our NT more than 300 times! Joy is a true sense of contentment that arises from internal factors, like our faith in our Lord Jesus. True joy is everlasting and not dependent on our circumstances. Indeed, a deep, abiding joy can come as we persevere through trials, with God’s help, and as our faith matures and is strengthened.
James, the half-brother of Jesus, would agree with this, as can be seen in the first chapter of his book, verses 2 through 4…
A man was traveling down the streets of a large city and stopped at a traffic signal. He happened to glance off to his right and spotted two boys fighting in an alley. One boy was quite a bit bigger than the other and was consequently knocking the tar out of the little fellow. He would punch the smaller boy and blood would fly from his nose, but the little guy would get right back up just to wind up on the receiving end of another punch. The man decided he had to intervene. He pulled his car over and ran into the alley, yelling for the big boy to quit beating up the smaller one.
But it was the little fellow who responded. He said, “Hey mister, mind your own business! I ain’t got my second wind yet, and when I do, I am gonna clobber this guy!”
You can’t lick someone who won’t stay down. Proverbs 24 says, “A righteous man falls seven times and yet rises up again.”
[From 1001 Humorous Illustrations for Public Speaking, “Getting Ready to Win”, #673, p. 257.]
That pretty much describes Paul, except he was knocked down far more than seven times, but he kept getting right back up again. I asked you to remember a time of great pain, not because I wanted you to suffer but to allow you to better feel what Paul and Silas must have felt in that situation Luke recorded for us.
Once again, the crowd turned against them. The civil authorities ripped off their robes and had them beaten, severely, with “many blows” as Luke put it. This type of beating would have been very similar to what we hear about in some Asian countries like Thailand, where caning is used as a punishment. Not only would Paul’s and Silas’ backs have been extremely sore and bruised, the skin would very likely have been torn open in shallow but long cuts.
Then they were thrown in prison and shackled to the floor. The front of your bulletin gives you a pretty good idea of how they would have been held. The jailer was ordered to guard them securely, and this would have fit the bill. Effectively they’re sitting on the floor, with their legs spread slightly apart and their ankles clamped to the floor where all they can do is wiggle their feet. If you ever tried sitting on the floor for a while, you know it doesn’t take too long before your rear end and the small of your back get tired and sore. When Paul and Silas reached that point, and any of the other prisoners for that matter, the only way they could find any relief would be to lie flat - on that cold, damp, dirty stone floor, on their bruised, sliced, bloody backs.
That’s what I wanted you to be better able to feel when I asked you to think back. Rejected by the very people they were trying to help. Humiliated, dejected, abused by those in authority. Their backs burning from the brutal punishment. Unable to move much except to lie back on those same pain-filled backs.
In your situation of your memory, were you very happy about it? Did you rejoice in the moment? Paul and Silas did. What does it say in our scripture, in verse 25?
About midnight… well, we don’t know exactly when all this transpired, but some amount of time must have passed because the chief jailer had put out the lights and gone off to sleep. So Luke says that around midnight Paul and Silas could be heard “praying and singing hymns of praise to God”.
Is that what you did, in your time of great pain? I bet you did some praying, but how about singing God’s praises? That’s a good description of rejoicing, isn’t it: singing hymns of praise to God?
That isn’t to say that they were very happy about their situation – I don’t see how they could be. I would have probably been holding a pity party had I been there with them. “Oh poor me! Chained to this floor! I hurt so much and can’t get any relief! Oh God why did You let this happen to me?!!?”
But these two were holding a prayer meeting and praise session! They were rejoicing! They were praying and singing praise to God, loud enough that the other prisoners could hear them, around midnight, in that cold dark cell.
Depending on the version you look into, our New Testament uses the words “happy” and “happiness” about 30 times. Luke sure didn’t use either here in describing Paul and Silas. Happiness tends to be fleeting and depends on earthly, worldly, external factors – things like fortunate circumstances, other people, or our current station in life.
The words “joy” and “rejoice”, on the other hand, appear in our NT more than 300 times! Joy is a true sense of contentment that arises from internal factors, like our faith in our Lord Jesus. True joy is everlasting and not dependent on our circumstances. Indeed, a deep, abiding joy can come as we persevere through trials, with God’s help, and as our faith matures and is strengthened.
James, the half-brother of Jesus, would agree with this, as can be seen in the first chapter of his book, verses 2 through 4…
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.--James 1:2-4 (NASB)
Paul certainly exemplifies this, in his actions and his words. How could he possibly rejoice in this cold cell, in this particular predicament? He tells us in his letter to the church in Philippi that it’s a mindset, that it becomes something we simply want to do. He encourages us in Philippians chapter 4 verse 4…
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
--Philippians 4:4 (NASB)
Rejoice always – not some of the time, not just in good times – always!
I need to ask: what’s important to you? What is your passion? For you see, whatever is important to us, whatever we are most passionate about, that is where we place our investments. That’s what we put our time and money and love into. Whether it’s something like our family or our career, or more tangible like our cars or boats or other toys, we give whatever is most important in our lives the biggest part of our lives.
We do it because we get some form of payback from doing so. (I bet you were wondering how I was going to work the sermon title in.) The payback is often a sense of happiness, of satisfaction, or maybe even a sense of accomplishment. And remember what I said about happiness, and its fleeting nature.
If we’re really blessed, we are able to derive great joy from our investment, from our passion, and that joy transcends happiness. Well, folks, that was Paul, and Silas too in this instance. Paul’s passion was serving the Lord. The most important thing in his life was to preach the Gospel, to spread the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ. And his payback was what? – pain and suffering, lying on his torn back on a cold cell floor?
Hear what he wrote to the church in Philippi, a little bit before the last part I read a minute ago, this time in the first chapter, verses 12 through 18…
I need to ask: what’s important to you? What is your passion? For you see, whatever is important to us, whatever we are most passionate about, that is where we place our investments. That’s what we put our time and money and love into. Whether it’s something like our family or our career, or more tangible like our cars or boats or other toys, we give whatever is most important in our lives the biggest part of our lives.
We do it because we get some form of payback from doing so. (I bet you were wondering how I was going to work the sermon title in.) The payback is often a sense of happiness, of satisfaction, or maybe even a sense of accomplishment. And remember what I said about happiness, and its fleeting nature.
If we’re really blessed, we are able to derive great joy from our investment, from our passion, and that joy transcends happiness. Well, folks, that was Paul, and Silas too in this instance. Paul’s passion was serving the Lord. The most important thing in his life was to preach the Gospel, to spread the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ. And his payback was what? – pain and suffering, lying on his torn back on a cold cell floor?
Hear what he wrote to the church in Philippi, a little bit before the last part I read a minute ago, this time in the first chapter, verses 12 through 18…
12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, 13 so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, 14 and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. 15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; 16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.
--Philippians 1:12-18 (NASB)
Paul didn’t care what the cost might be for telling others about Jesus. He was more interested in the payback, with even his Roman guards hearing about and coming to Jesus. He didn’t even care if someone else is telling the same story for their own selfish purposes or hidden agenda, as long as they were getting the story right. He only cared that Jesus Christ be proclaimed.
So even in his cold dark cell, even at midnight, Paul is spreading the Gospel of Jesus in prayer and hymns of praise, and the other prisoners are listening! When God responds with an earthquake and breaks all the chains and doors in that prison, no one even tries to escape. They’re too caught up in what Paul is saying! They want to hear more about Jesus.
There’s something else Paul tells us about enduring tough times. In his letter to the Romans, chapter 8, verse 28, he assures us…
So even in his cold dark cell, even at midnight, Paul is spreading the Gospel of Jesus in prayer and hymns of praise, and the other prisoners are listening! When God responds with an earthquake and breaks all the chains and doors in that prison, no one even tries to escape. They’re too caught up in what Paul is saying! They want to hear more about Jesus.
There’s something else Paul tells us about enduring tough times. In his letter to the Romans, chapter 8, verse 28, he assures us…
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
--Romans 8:28 (NASB)
Now we’d probably think that being able to escape that terrible dungeon would be something good God could create from that mess. But not Paul, nor even the prisoners. The good that God made from that horribly bad situation was that many souls were saved that night.
Even the chief jailer, charged with seeing that these two troublemakers be kept secure, under threat of his own death – even he and his entire household came to know Jesus as their Savior that night. As Christians, could we ask for a better payback than what Paul and Silas received that night?
Let Jesus be your passion. Your payback will be so wonderful, so eternally joyfully wonderful.
Next week we will again be celebrating our Lord’s last meal on this earth. Before we do, I would like to read once more from Paul’s words to the church in Corinth, from his first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 11, verses 26 through 28, where he cautions us…
Even the chief jailer, charged with seeing that these two troublemakers be kept secure, under threat of his own death – even he and his entire household came to know Jesus as their Savior that night. As Christians, could we ask for a better payback than what Paul and Silas received that night?
Let Jesus be your passion. Your payback will be so wonderful, so eternally joyfully wonderful.
Next week we will again be celebrating our Lord’s last meal on this earth. Before we do, I would like to read once more from Paul’s words to the church in Corinth, from his first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 11, verses 26 through 28, where he cautions us…
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
Spend this coming week in prayer and repentance. Examine yourself. Prepare your heart and your mind to come to the Lord’s Table being right with God our Father. Spend time in prayer remembering what He did for us, for you. He took a beating for you. He died for you. He took all your sins upon His shoulders and left them in the grave, just so you could stand clean and purified before God.--1 Corinthians 11:26-28 (NASB)
This is what we will remember and commemorate when we approach the Lord’s Table to take the Holy Sacraments. And in doing so we will proclaim our Lord, until He comes again.
Amen.
Let us pray… Heavenly Father, thank You for showing us that if we make You and Your kingdom our top priority, we will know a joy and peace that surpass all understanding. We can now see that any happiness this world might offer is fleeting – here for a minute then gone. But the joy that comes from persevering through our trials, with Your help and by our faith, that joy brings true contentment and lasts forever.
Help us, Lord, to make You the most important thing in our lives! Help us make You our passion. Allow us, O Lord, to invest everything in You, to go all in for You. For we know that You make all things good for those who love You, and Lord we love you. Help us show that love every day in every way.
Hear us now, Lord, as we pause for just a moment and speak to You silently from our hearts and offer ourselves to You…
Lord God, You blessed us with Your Son, who gave of Himself for our salvation. May we be a blessing to others - showing them the way to salvation, loving them unconditionally, sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment