Greg Laurie - Songs in the Night (02/04/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares the powerful story from Acts 16 of Paul and Silas singing praises to God at midnight while chained in a filthy prison—showing how believers can offer a "sacrifice of praise" even in the darkest times, leading to supernatural deliverance, the jailer's salvation, and a reminder that our joy comes from knowing God, not circumstances.
The Challenge of Giving Thanks Always
All right. Well we are going to turn in our Bibles now to Acts chapter 16. Turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter 16. And the title of my message is Songs in the Night. It is a part of our series from the book of Acts that we are calling Upside Down Living. Let's pray.
Father now we ask your blessing on this time of Bible study. I pray that all of us will find that song in the night when things can be scary or uncertain or very difficult to remember that you are there with us in every phase of life. Through every experience of life. From the beginning to the middle. Right to the end. And then into eternity. So speak to us as we open your word. We ask it in Jesus name. Amen.
Give Thanks Because He Is Good
All right. Here is a great verse: Give thanks unto the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever. Now that is way easier to say than it is to do. Right? I mean sometimes it is pretty easy to give thanks to the Lord. I mean when there is a great meal on the table. Oh yeah. Thank you Lord. Or when a new baby is born. Lord we thank you for that.
But then there are times when it is not so easy to give thanks when there is no food on the table or a loved one has died. In fact at that time the last thing we want to do is give thanks to God. It is one thing to give thanks when the bills are paid and your health is good and your future is bright. But when a sudden and even tragic turn comes in life and we wonder what is happening. It is a little harder. Maybe a lot harder.
But again here is what the scripture says. Psalm 106 verse 1, Give thanks unto the Lord for He is good for His mercy endures forever. Notice that does not say give thanks to the Lord when you feel good. You know sometimes we may think well I should praise the Lord when I feel like it. You know I feel good today. I feel good. You know James Brown style. No. Yeah it is easy to give thanks then. But the Bible says give thanks to the Lord because He is good.
Now if God ceases to be good then I suppose you can stop giving thanks to the Lord. But of course that is never going to happen. Therefore I am to give thanks always. As Paul tells us in Philippians 4, Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice.
Job's Example of Thanks in Suffering
Let me illustrate. A classic example is poor old Job. You know everything that could go wrong went wrong for this servant of God. And one day not only did he lose many of his possessions but far worse was he lost seven sons and three daughters. It is really unimaginable. But yet we read in Job 1:21 after this horrific news came to him he said, Naked came I from my mother's womb. Naked shall I return. The Lord gives and the Lord is taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
That is the man that gave thanks when he did not feel like it. So we need to consider these things and develop what I would describe as a theology of Thanksgiving. A thanks that rises from our heart when we feel like it. And a thanks that rises from our heart even when we do not feel like it.
Three Reasons to Give Thanks
Why is that important? Because you were put on this earth to glorify God. Everything else you do is really secondary to that primary purpose for your existence. You were created to exalt, honor, and glorify the Lord. We are told in Colossians 3:17 whatever you do whether it is in word or deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
So you might say well what if I am not feeling it. Well sometimes giving thanks is an act of surrender. The Bible speaks of the sacrifice of praise. Hebrews 13:15 says, By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. The fruit of our lips. Listen. Did you know when you worship God you should verbalize it. Don't stand there and lip sync words. Okay. Well hey man. Don't judge me. This is the way I worship. Well change. Change. Why? Because God wants to hear you say it. He wants to hear it. That is why the Bible says, Shout unto the Lord.
So when you sing, sing. Like you mean it. You know. And you know. It is sort of like a husband and a wife. And the wife wonders. Does the husband love her? And the husband thinks, Well she knows I love her because I provide for her. And I take care of her. And all these things. Now that is true. But guess what. She wants to hear you say it. She is not a mind reader. Okay. So husbands you need to tell your wife you love her. Oh by the way how many of you are married tonight. Raise your hand up if you are married. Okay. How many of you are married and sitting next to your spouse. Raise your hand. Okay. You know what is coming? Husbands. Right now. Turn to your wife. Turn to her. Say this. I love you. I didn't hear it. Say it again. Now see you lose. That was too weird. Now your wife is freaking out. Because she was right next to you and you went I love you. But see verbalizing it is good. Sometimes I will admit it is a little awkward. Sometimes it is a little uncomfortable. You say, Greg, I am not that verbose. I am more of a quiet, you know, reserved person. Yeah, I get that. But yet there is a place for giving thanks to the Lord.
The Ten Lepers and Loud Praise
Let me illustrate. There is a story of ten lepers that were in need of a touch from Jesus. And leprosy was incurable. They asked him for a healing. And he extended it to them. And out of the ten only one returned giving thanks. And we read in Luke 17:15, after he was healed he returned and with a loud voice glorified God and fell down on his face and at his feet giving him thanks. Now earlier he had prayed loudly for a healing and now he was loud with his praise. And I love the fact that in the Greek that phrase loud voice comes from two words where we get our English word megaphone from. Okay. So I mean he was loud. Lord thank you for what you did for me.
But why should I give thanks to God? Let me give you three fast reasons before we get to our text and see this illustrated beautifully.
I should give thanks number one because I recognize as a Christian God is in control of all circumstances surrounding my life. So again here it is on the screen if you are writing it down. I realize that as a Christian God is in control of all circumstances surrounding my life. Here are some verses. Jot these references down because these are good to go back and look at.
Proverbs 16:9. We can make our plans but the Lord determines our steps.
Jeremiah 10:23. I know Lord that a person's life is not his own. No one is able to plan his own course.
Proverbs 20:24. How can we understand the road we travel? It is the Lord that directs our steps.
God is in control. Or another way it is stated God is sovereign. We hear about the sovereignty of God. What does that mean? It means that God is able to do what He pleases with whomever He chooses whenever He wishes. Think about it. God is able to do what He pleases with whomever He chooses whenever He wishes. That is the sovereignty of God. Psalm 115:3 says, Our God is in heaven. He does whatever He pleases.
Chuck Swindoll summed up the sovereignty of God as follows. And I quote, To say that God is sovereign is to say that He is supreme. He is in full control of all things. All. He is almighty. He is the possessor of all power on earth, above earth, below earth, and all matters pertaining to all existence, over all nature, over all events, over all blessings, over all disasters and calamities, over all humanity, all life, and the realm of the seen and the unseen, good and evil. No one can defeat His purposes or thwart His plans. He is never surprised. He never learns. He is never frustrated. Nothing is ever an afterthought. End quote. The sovereignty of God.
You say, Yahweh, okay. What about when bad things happen? Is God still in control? Yes. And the Bible tells us that despite the bad things that happen that many times are inexplicable that God can work all things together for good to those that love Him. Psalm 119:91 says, Everything serves your plans.
So number two, the realize that God loves me and He is always looking out for my eternal benefit. So the second reason that I can and I should give thanks to God is because God loves me and He is always looking out for my eternal benefit even if what I am going through at present is difficult. Second Corinthians 4:17 says, Our present troubles are quite small. They won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever. So don't look at the troubles you see now. Rather look forward to what you have not yet seen. For the troubles we see now will soon be over. But the joys to come will last forever.
Listen. Here is God's end game for you. It is to make you like Jesus. After Romans 8:28 is Romans 8:29. That is a profound thought for the night. But I rarely hear verse 29 quoted. I just hear verse 28 quoted. So let us put them together. And then you get the full sweep. Verse 28. All things are working together for good to those that love God. To those called according to His purpose. Verse 29. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestine to be conformed into the image of His own dear Son.
See if I isolate verse 28 I may get the wrong idea. And think that everything has to always turn out nice. Like whatever bad thing happens don't worry. It is going to get good. And there will be a nice little bow and I can say, You see the bad thing happened. It turned into a good thing. And now, well yeah that is true of a lot of things in life. But then there are things that are bad. They stay bad. And they will always be bad. But wait. Verse 29. Whom He did foreknow, He predestined to be conformed into the image of Christ. See the ultimate good is not your temporal happiness. The ultimate good is you are going to be like Jesus Christ. The Bible says when we see Him we will be like Him. That is what God is trying to do. So God's objective is not to make you happy as much as it is to make you holy. So that is what He is headed toward. And there are things in life that will make sense. There are other things that won't make sense. But just remember this. God loves you. And He is always looking out for your eternal benefit.
And then number three. Why should I give thanks? Because God is wiser than I am. Because God is wiser than I am. And what is immediately good may actually not be eternally good. And what is eternally good isn't always immediately good but painful. So with that foundation let's look at a story in Scripture. Two men, Paul and Silas. And we see how they were able to rejoice in the most difficult of circumstances.
Paul and Silas Directed to Philippi
Now in our last message from Acts we look at Paul's first missionary journey. This is the record of his second. Concerned for the churches that were left behind in Asia Minor, Paul proposed that they revisit them and check in their progress. But there was one small problem. God had a different game plan. And though Paul made every attempt to go to Asia the Lord basically said no. In fact we read in Acts 16:7, coming to the borders of Mysia they headed for the province of Bithynia, but the Holy Spirit did not let them go.
You know sometimes God says no and it bums us out. We say we know God didn't answer my prayer. Well what you really meant to say was you didn't like the answer. You said God will you do this? God says no. Oh God doesn't love me. No. God said that because He does love you. He said no. He had a different purpose in mind. So to the apostles He said no. The Holy Spirit did not let them go.
Now I am intrigued by that because I wonder well how did the Holy Spirit convey that truth to them? Was it just a lack of peace? You ever had that? Where you are heading into a situation and everything looks good outwardly but in your heart you are just sensing I don't know if this is good. You know. I don't really know if I should be doing this or going to this place or hanging out with these people or signing this contract or whatever it is you are doing or getting married to this person. You know. I don't know if I should do it. You know honestly if you are like engaged to someone and you are thinking I shouldn't marry them I would say go ahead and throw on the brakes. Better to break an engagement than tear another marriage apart. I know it is embarrassing. But honestly if you can't go into that knowing it is the will of God and if you are feeling like you made the wrong decision then just yeah you know what I made a wrong decision and sorry but can I still have the gift you got me? No I am kidding. But sometimes the Lord will show us that. Or it might be a closed door.
Sometimes the way God says no is as simple as the door being closed. The car not starting. Whatever it is you need to do. The flight was canceled. Whatever it is that you are going to do it just wasn't going to happen now. And you go well why did that happen? Well maybe it was through a closed door. Or maybe sickness. You know sometimes our plans are changed through sickness. And we realize wow I can't go where I wanted to go. I can't do what I wanted to do. God has His timing. And His timing wasn't right for them to go where they wanted to go. He wanted them to go to a different place. And we will see why in a moment. Sometimes God leads us differently than what we wanted to do. David for instance wanted to build a house for the Lord. That was really on his heart. The Lord said no. You can't do it David. But I will tell you what I will let your son do it. So David didn't get to do what he wanted to do. And we are all like that in many ways.
God's Unexpected Leading
When I first started out preaching a long time ago. in 1971 or so. Most of you weren't even born. Well some of you were. But I wanted to be an evangelist more than anything else. You know I went to a Billy Graham crusade and I said man that is what I want to be when I grow up you know. And I never dreamed that I would preach in large stadiums or anything like that. But I just felt that God had called me to bring the good news to people. I didn't feel called to be a Bible teacher or anything like that. I just wanted to share the gospel. So I was doing that for a while. For a couple of years traveling around with Christian bands and stuff and sharing the gospel. And this little Bible study opened up in Riverside. And no one else wanted to do it anymore. And so it was passed around from various pastors, friends that I knew at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa.
And I was like around I don't know 19 at the time. Maybe 20. And they said well Greg why don't you do it. And I said yeah okay. And I went and did it. And the Lord blessed it and it started to grow. And I thought I have to get someone to take this Bible study over because I am called to be an evangelist you know. And it kept growing. And people started calling me Pastor Greg and I am saying I am not your pastor. I am like 21 years old. I don't think you really want me as your pastor. Though I did know everything when I was 21. I do remember that. I do remember thinking no matter what I have the answer. You know. And now at the age of 31 I am not as sure as I used to be. But I began to realize that God was calling me to be a pastor. Okay but here was the problem. This church was in Riverside and I lived in Orange County. I was born and raised in Orange County.
So here is this thing opening up in Riverside. I did not want to go to Riverside. That is like inland. I want to stay at the beach. But the Lord was directing me. And so I went. And I continued to teach. And this thing grew and grew and grew. And you know you fast forward a number of years and it is a church now of 15,000 people. And so we thank God for that. But in my heart I always had this desire to do evangelism. And I thought, well it is just not God's timing. Or maybe it is not as well. I mean I always evangelized when I could here and there. But I never got to do that other thing I wanted to do until around 1990 when I was teaching a Monday night Bible study over at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa. And the Lord was blessing and it was growing. And I was doing this in addition to pastoring in Riverside.
And Chuck Smith came to me and said, Greg I think we ought to take this to a larger venue. Sort of do a Billy Graham style crusade. And I said, well yeah I get a bunch of guys to come and preach. He goes, no I was actually thinking you should do the preaching. I was like, really? And so we went to the Pacific Amphitheater and that was the beginning of the Harvest Crusades. Okay so now fast forward 22 years. I am giving you a flyover of my entire life. Okay. Fast forward 22 years. And so we are doing these crusades and pastoring in Riverside. And the Lord spoke to my heart and said, now do a church in Orange County. And that is why we are here right now. That was that step of faith that we took.
Let me say this. This church would not be here if it wasn't for Riverside. Because the bottom line is the church in Riverside provides a lot of the staff that serve you and they pay their salary. Because of their faithfulness and their generosity they have enabled us to come and do this work here. But now as we get stronger and grow more we need this church to be self-supporting. Right? That is good stewardship. Which means that all of you that consider yourself a part of Harvest need to be faithfully giving here and tithing here. And that way we can be responsible with the resources that God gives to us. But see it was, you know, this is the way the Lord leads. You know. And it is always different. You just start to get it figured out and there is a twist here or there is a turn there. And so it was with Paul and Silas. They were directed to not go where they wanted to go. But now the Lord is going to direct them to Philippi. And that is where our story is going to begin.
Background on Philippi
A little background on Philippi before we read some verses. Philippi was a Roman colony. You know Rome effectively conquered a good deal of the world including Greece. And they would build these little Roman colonies there. And so they would encourage Roman citizens to move to these other places so they would have loyal subjects there. And so these would be pro Roman cities and strategic areas. It would sort of be like Rome away from Rome if you will. And you can visit some of these cities and they would have a lot of the things they have in Rome in smaller scale. Like they would have their own little amphitheater. But it wouldn't be anything like the Colosseum. They would have an amphitheater downtown and a lot of the luxuries of Rome but in a smaller scale. So that is what Philippi was. It was in the area of Greece. But it was now a Roman city. And in this city there was a lot of anti-Semitism. And so this is what Paul was going to deal with. And as a Jew he was going to have to face this bigotry toward the Jewish people.
So Paul comes into town and he goes looking for the synagogue. And there was no synagogue. There wasn't enough Jews in this city to form a synagogue. He needed ten Jewish men to form a synagogue. And because apparently there weren't that many Jewish men there, Paul went down to the river and there was some Jewish women. And among them was a girl named Lydia. And Lydia actually was a very affluent woman. The Bible tells us she was a seller of purple. Now that doesn't make any sense to us. Like seller of purple. Well what that meant was she sold expensive clothing that was dyed purple. And purple was a color of royalty. So if Lydia were alive today she would be like a designer. It would be like a famous designer getting saved. Like you know Calvin Klein became a Christian. Or Tommy Bahama. But actually I found out there is no Tommy Bahama. I was in a Tommy Bahama store and I saw a picture of this guy with gray hairs. I said, Is that Tommy Bahama? They sort of laughed. There is no Tommy Bahama. Oh sorry. I didn't know. But it would be like a famous designer getting saved. And that is who Lydia was. She is now a believer.
And after her conversion predictably Satan attacks as he usually does. And Paul and Silas are being followed around town by a demonized girl. A girl that is possessed by demons. And strangely she is yelling out, These men are servants of the Most High and have come to tell you how to be saved. I mean it is a good thing she was saying. It is just that she was possessed by demons and she shrieked it. And Paul was like, Is she ever going to stop? And this went on for days. And finally Paul couldn't take it anymore. And he cast the demon out of her. And along with that went her ability to make money. Because she worked for these masters. She was a slave girl. They were making a lot of money from this witchy woman. And so now they were angry with Paul and Silas. So they dragged them down to the town square.
Paul and Silas Imprisoned
Acts 16 verse 20. Let's read a few verses. I am reading from the New Living Translation at this moment. The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews, they shouted. They are teaching the people to do things that are against Roman customs. A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas. And the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods.
So the accusers of Paul and Silas cleverly exploited the rampant anti-Semitism. Notice that they refer to Paul and Silas as these Jews. And then they appealed to Roman pride. You know, it is not according to Roman customs. And they brought Paul and Silas up on false charges. And they beat them with wooden rods. Drop down to verse 23. Acts 16. They were severely beaten. Then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn't escape. So he took no chances but put them in the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.
Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. And the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly there was a great earthquake and the prison was shaken to its foundations. And all the doors flew open. And the chains of every prisoner fell off. And the jailer woke up to see the prison doors open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped. So he drew his sword to kill himself. Paul shouted to him, Don't do it. We are all here trembling with fear. The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and asked them, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? They replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved along with your entire household. And they shared the word of the Lord with him and all who lived in his household. The same hour the jailer washed their wounds and he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. And he brought them into his house and set a meal before them. He and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God. Wow, what a story.
So Paul starts out in prison and he ends up leading the jailer to the Lord. But what set the scene for this dramatic chain of events is found in verse 24. They are clamped in stocks. Okay, so imagine how horrific this is. I mean, when we talk dungeons of the first century, we are talking just the worst conditions imaginable. There is no ventilation. There is no sanitation. There is no... It is just a cave. It is a pit of death and misery. And then if that is not bad enough, they are put into these stocks where their legs are spread apart causing excruciating pain. And there they are in agony.
Songs in the Night
So what did they do? Well they did what we were talking about earlier. They offered that sacrifice of praise. At midnight Paul and Silas began to sing praises to God. You know, when you are in pain the midnight hour is not the easiest time for a worship service. But God gives songs in the night. Hence the title for my message. Psalm 42:8 says, Through each day the Lord pours His unfailing love upon me. And through each night I will sing His songs, praying to God who gives me life.
Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and had a Christian song, a worship chorus, going through your mind? Isn't that cool? And you know what that says to me? That says you are laying up the things of God in your heart. You know, instead of waking up and you are thinking, wild thing. That doesn't help anything. No, you wake up and you have a Christian song. Or maybe a scripture. But it is just sort of playing through. And that is a song in the night that the Lord has given to you.
And notice in verse 25 it says, The other prisoners were listening to them. Now the word that is used here for listen is significant. It means to listen very, very carefully. Another way to translate it is, They listened with pleasure. You know there are some things that are not a pleasure to listen to. They are painful to listen to. The fingernails on a chalkboard or something else. But this was pleasurable. It is like when your favorite song comes on the radio and you go to turn it up. Oh I love this song. This is a great song. And they were listening with pleasure. Why? Well I doubt they had ever heard anyone sing in that dungeon before.
Worship as a Powerful Testimony
Now I don't know if Paul and Silas were like harmonizing or anything like that. But I think just the fact that they were singing to the Lord was a powerful testimony. It was a platform for evangelism. You see you can talk about trusting God in adversity. But when someone sees it in action in your life there is an undeniable authenticity. It is a powerful witness.
You know you tell your non-believing friends, oh I am a Christian and God is in control of my life and all this. And then something horrific happens to you and they see you are still praising God. That carries a lot of weight. And that makes your words more powerful. And the next time you talk to them they are going to listen more carefully. That is what is happening here. And that is why I believe that worship can be a powerful tool for a non-believer to be exposed to.
I was just thinking of our crusade at Dodger Stadium. How many of you were there? And remember the worship? I mean these people were like singing so loud. I don't know if I have ever heard people sing so loud in one of our crusades before. And Kirk Franklin got out and he has people going up to total strangers. Go up to that person and give them a hug and say you love them. And all these people are hugging each other. And I am sitting on kind of a top level. I am looking at it and going, this has never happened at Dodger Stadium before. I mean seriously. And we were all aware of the fact that a man was almost beaten to death in Dodger Stadium not that long ago. And we were aware of the crime in L. A. And here are people, thousands of people, hugging each other, singing the praises of the Lord. I said, man, before the gospel was even preached this was paving the way.
You know a non-believer walks into that and says, what in the heck is this all about? It is good. I think it is why it is a good thing when people come to church and they are here while we are worshiping the Lord. That is a powerful testimony because they are going to check it out. They are not checking out just what is happening on the platform. They are checking out what is happening around them. Right? And if you are like engaged and you are worshiping God they are going, wow. Okay. These people are into this. Or if you are like distracted or talking to your friend or whatever then that says to them, wow this must not be all that important.
So this was a powerful testimony. And something supernatural happens when God's people come together and engage in corporate worship. It is great to do it all by yourself. But when two or more are gathered together in His name He is there in the midst of them. That does not mean that God is not with us everywhere we go. Because the fact of the matter is God is omnipresent. Which means present everywhere. Yet it is an undeniable fact that when God's people get together and pray together and worship together that the Lord blesses it in a wonderful way. Don't you agree? Right? And that is why church is important. That is why church is important. That is why getting together and worshiping is important.
Worship Brings Perspective
You know the Bible says that the Lord inhabits the praises of His people. And listen to this. When we worship on earth we are in tune with what is happening in heaven. Because in heaven worship is constantly in motion. Revelation 5:12 says they sing in a mighty chorus. The Lamb is worthy. The Lamb who was killed He is worthy to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. So in heaven praise is taking place. So when we are praising the Lord on earth we are joining the chorus of heaven. And God is actually looking for people to worship Him in the Spirit and in truth.
You know when we come to church and worship I think it helps us to get things in perspective. Asaph was grappling with the age old question. Why do the wicked prosper? And then it dawned on him in Psalm 73 verse 16. When I tried to figure it out, this is a modern translation, all I got was a splitting headache until I entered the sanctuary of God. Then I saw the whole picture.
You know sometimes we don't understand why things are the way that they are. But when we come and worship and we hear the Word of God, even if it doesn't apply specifically to our situation, it helps us get perspective. Right? You know when our son died. on a Thursday. We were in church the following Sunday. And people said, Oh Greg, your faith is so strong. You know, no. Actually my faith was weak, you see. I needed help. I needed God's people. I needed to worship God. I needed to hear a Bible study. I needed perspective. And I will tell you, the moment I walked in and was surrounded by God's people, and I knew they were praying for me, it helped me. It is not like my questions were all answered. Now I understand it and it is all good. No. It was still as painful as ever. But it helped me get perspective.
You see God for who He is. Then you see your problems for what they are. Sometimes we have big problems because we have a small God. But if we have a big God, we will see, comparatively speaking, we have small problems. That is why church is important. That is why hearing the Word of God preached to you is important. It is not about me doing it. Whoever that person is that brings the Word of God. It is just hearing God's Word. That is all. And preachers need to be preached to, you know, too. I love to hear preaching. I love to hear Bible studies. I listen to them all day long. And I don't listen to myself all day long either. There is other people. And I am blessed by it. So Paul and Silas had perspective. And they praised God in a stinking dungeon.
Paul's Prison Rejoicing
So three or four years later Paul is in prison again. And this time there hasn't been an earthquake. But he is still singing. In fact he writes about it in the book of Philippians. Now consider these words of Paul that we have often quoted in context. These words were written in a prison cell. Here is what Paul says. Philippians 4. Verse 4. Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice. Let everyone see that you are considerate in all that you do. Remember the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything. Pray about everything. Tell God what you need. Thank Him for what He has done. And God's peace will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
Now that is interesting because when he says rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice. It is a command. Hey guys you are commanded by God to rejoice. If you feel like it or not. You can say oh it is easy for you to say Paul. You are living in the lap of luxury. No actually I am in a prison cell. That is where I am writing this from. So I think I can speak with some authority to the topic. So you know what. If anyone can be depressed it is me. But I am rejoicing. So you should too. Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice. And that is what Paul and Silas were doing with their songs in the night. In the night.
And you know only a person with a relationship with God can do this I think. Our joy and contentment of life does not come from what we have but who we know. It does not come from what we have but who we know. Whatever you get in life you are going to get tired of it in time. Right? How about a new car? What is better than a new car? Don't you love the new car smell? I love this car. You look for excuses to go on a drive. So you can get in your new car. And then you make a vow. I am never going to eat in this car. You know when I am hungry I am pulling over. I am going to eat outside of the car. And I am going to wash this car every day. And a month goes by. And you are late for work and you have to eat. And you get a burrito. And you lose it somewhere in the car. You don't know where it went. And then you get your first dent. Right? Someone opens the door. Bums it. And then the paint chips a little bit. And then you know what? That was so exciting but now it is not so exciting.
Take that metaphor and apply it to everything in life. And it is true. I don't care how big, how cool, how fast. Whatever it is, everything loses its appeal after a period of time. So if you think happiness comes from what you have, you are going to find you are always going to want something else to take its place. But that is something that the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches happiness, true happiness comes from who we know. Listen to Habakkuk 3:17. Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine, even though the olive crop fails and the fields lie empty and barren, even though the flocks die in the fields and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in the God of my salvation.
Let me update that psalm for modern times. Even when business is slow, and there are no prospects in the immediate future, even when my investments have evaporated and the car won't start, I will rejoice in the Lord. The words of a crazy man? No. The words of a man that recognize contentment does not come from what you have. It comes from who you know. And that is how Paul and Silas were able to rejoice in these circumstances.
So did Paul believe this all the way to the end of his life? As a matter of fact he did. Because guess where he ended up in the final moments of his life? Another prison cell. This time it was in Rome. As we will see as we move through Acts he appealed to Caesar. As a Roman citizen, which was a serious kind of thing to be. He invoked his citizenship and appealed to Rome, that was a right of a citizen. And so he was imprisoned in Rome. So here are his final words in 2 Timothy 4. He says, I fought the good fight. I finished the course. I kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me in that day. And not to me only, but to all who have loved his appearing. So Paul is saying, Look, I have been faithful. I have held on. So he knew a lot about this.
The Earthquake and the Jailer
So back to our story. So here is Paul and Silas. At midnight they sing praises to God. Now I want you to notice they didn't pray for deliverance. They didn't say, Lord send an earthquake. Or Lord, you remember how you busted Peter out of jail with the angel? How about doing that for us right now? They didn't pray anything of the kind. They just sang praises to God. And yes, the earthquake came. But that is not the focus of the story. The focus of the story is the child of God can rejoice in the most trying of circumstances. That is the message. Because you know what? Sometimes the earthquake doesn't come. Deliverance from circumstances don't come. Sometimes he delivers us from our circumstances like Daniel in the lion's den. And sometimes he delivers us in our circumstances like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Yeah, Daniel still had to spend a night in that den with those lions. And don't think they weren't hungry. They were just restrained by God. Probably going to be nice pillows though, for old Daniel who had a good night's sleep. But ma'am, when he was taken out of there, and the guys who were responsible for putting him in there were thrown in, those lions couldn't tear those guys apart and eat them fast enough.
But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a fiery furnace that was heated seven times hotter than normal because of their unwillingness to bow before the golden image of the king. But we read that while they were walking through the furnace, walking with them was one who was like the Son of God, which many of us believe was Christ himself walking with them through it. So sometimes you'll say, Lord help me. And he'll deliver you. And he'll heal you. He'll provide for you. He'll fix your problem. And other times he says, I'm going to be with you through it. So trust me. So we need to keep that in mind because ultimately in the prison that Paul was in, in Rome, he wasn't delivered. In fact he was beheaded. But this time he was delivered.
An earthquake comes. I mean here is Paul and Silas. They are singing and they really brought the house down, right? An earthquake comes and shakes it so the walls of the prison literally collapse and this Roman soldier is ready to kill them. Now understand this is a hard man. Note that after he whipped Paul and Silas he didn't even wash their wounds. But he noticed they were different. You see he heard their songs in the night too. And he might have thought, you know, what if it is possible to know a God like this? So I think he was already deeply moved by their willingness to worship God.
So the walls collapsed and he was going to kill himself. Why was he going to kill himself? Because back in those days if you were a Roman guard in charge of someone and your prisoner got away, you would be put to death along with your family. So I thought I would just, you know, honorable death, kill myself right now. I am ready to do it. Paul says, don't hurt yourself. We are all here. We haven't left. What does the guy say next? Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
I love the fact that he called them sirs. Very formal. Before that he said, get out of my sight. Excuse me sir. Yeah. What must I do to be saved? Paul says, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. And he believes. In that same hour, verse 33, the jailer washed their wounds and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. Like Zacchaeus who made restoration because he stole from people, there was clear evidence of a change of heart demonstrated by this man's change of actions. When there is no change in actions, it is doubtful there has been a change of heart. If your heart has really changed, your actions will change. And if your actions haven't changed, it is doubtful your heart has really changed.
What Must I Do to Be Saved?
Well let's close now with the question of the jailer. What must I do to be saved? What Paul said is important. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. So what does that mean? Well the word believe does not merely mean intellectual assent. I.e. I acknowledge that there is a God. Or I even acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. No. To believe in a biblical sense is much more than that. Because the Bible says the demons believe and tremble. So demons acknowledge the existence of God, but they don't trust in Him. To believe means to hold on to Him. To cling to Him. And it also means to let go of something. So belief in the Bible speaks of both. letting go of one thing and taking hold of another. You are letting go of your sin and you are taking hold of Christ and Christ alone to save you. It is not Christ plus these good works that I do. No. It is just Christ. Lord save me.
And I like the fact that he asks, what must I do to be saved? I read an article in the paper recently. It is actually a website. And some mega church pastor, as he is described at least, said that he doesn't believe we should use the word saved anymore in our preaching because people don't understand it. Well I think that is probably true. But I think it is a great word. And I am going to keep using it. Because it is in the Bible. But there are a lot of words in the Bible that people don't understand. That doesn't mean we shouldn't use them. It just means we need to explain them. But I think the word saved is fairly self explanatory. Isn't it? I mean we use it all the time. You know somebody is out at the wedge and they get caught in a riptide and a lifeguard swims out there and pulls them in. What do we say? The lifeguard saved them. We get it? He saved him. Why? Because he was drowning. So the lifeguard saved him. Or if a person is trapped in a burning building and a firefighter rushes in and comes out holding that person in his arms, we say the firefighter saved him. We understand what the word means.
Well isn't that a little dramatic to use when we talk about conversion? No. It is actually the perfect word. Because your state was worse than someone drowning at the wedge. Your state was worse than someone in a burning building. You were headed to eternal judgment and hell. So when we say you are saved, that is the perfect word. What must I do to be saved? Saved from what? Saved from future judgment. Romans 5:9 says, Since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God's judgment.
Well what do I need to do to be saved? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Recognize your sinfulness. Turn from it. Put your faith in Christ. And that is what the man did. And that is what we need to do. That is what you need to do if you haven't done it yet.
Oh I know people will come along and say, Well I tried the whole Christian thing. It didn't work for me. You know I guess I am just not the religious type. Listen. If there was ever a person who was not the religious type, it was me. Trust me when I tell you that. I had no interest in it. I was actually somewhat repulsed by the idea of being a Christian. So it was not something I was fascinated by. You know a lot of people like to be religious. And they like to go to church. Are you kidding? I didn't want to do any of those things. At all. But I did want to know the meaning and purpose of my life. And I did want to know how to live a life that was meaningful and so forth. But you know people say, Well I tried Christianity. Well that is like someone saying, Well I tried medicine. It didn't work for me. Well my follow up question is, What do you mean you tried medicine? Well I went to a doctor. And he did a checkup. And he told me I should take this particular medication. And I tried that whole thing. It didn't work. I am worse than I ever was.
Really. Well did you go fill your prescription? No. Did you do what the doctor told you? No. Well then don't say you tried that. Because you didn't. You didn't do what the doctor told you to do. That would be like somebody saying, Oh yeah. You know I tried the whole workout thing. I mean I got a membership in a health club. And there it was. I mean I did that. Really. Did you ever go and work out? No. What did you do? I go and eat at the donut store next door. I actually increased my intake. And yeah. Well then don't say you tried the whole workout thing. You never did it. Okay. So I tried the whole Christian thing. Really? Did you ever read the Bible? Well a couple times. Did you go to church? Twice. Yeah. Did you pray? Not that much. Were you baptized? No. No. Did you. I mean. So you didn't put anything into it. And now you tell me it didn't work for you. The reason it didn't work is you never applied yourself to it.
I am not saying these things we do make Christianity work. Christianity is a relationship with Christ. It is Him living inside of you. But if He really lives inside of you you will want to engage in the disciplines that will produce a strong spiritual life. Which include Bible study. Which include prayer. And the reason I said be baptized. You don't have to be baptized to be saved. But if you are saved you ought to be baptized. Right? So if you haven't been baptized my question would be why? Well you know I don't know. I am so busy. Yeah but God said repent and be baptized. So why haven't you done that? Well good point. But yeah well get baptized. Because God told you to. Right? I mean it is a simple act of faith and obedience. But if you are not willing to do something as simple as that and to discipline yourself to read the Word of God or to pray and don't tell me it didn't work. You are not applying yourself. See if you are really a Christian you will want to do these things. Good works don't save a man. But there are good evidence He saved. So if you are really a Christian there will be results in your life. And if there are not results in your life then I wonder if you are really a Christian.
You know what I honestly think there is a lot of people running around today who think they are Christians who really aren't. It kind of scares me. These are people that have gone to churches and they do think they have heard the gospel and they have made some kind of a profession of faith and acknowledgment of God. And effectively sadly, they have gone on and lived their life the way they always lived it, with no changes whatsoever. And they have this false assurance that everything is cool between them and God, and they will go to heaven when they die. And they have never really turned from their sin and put their faith in Christ. Is that you? And if it is, why don't we change that tonight? And why don't you make a genuine commitment to Jesus, who died on the cross for you, who paid the price for all of your sin, and Rose again from the dead, and stands now at the door of your life and knocks and says, If you will hear his voice and open the door, he will come in. If you have never asked Christ to come into your life, you can do it right now. And just like this man, this jailer, two thousand years ago had his life changed, you can have your life changed tonight by putting your faith in Christ.
Final Invitation and Prayer
If you have not done that, why don't you respond to this invitation I will give right now as we close in prayer. Let's all bow our heads. Everyone pray, if you would. Father, I pray now for those here that do not yet know you. Help them, Lord, to see their need for you. Help them to see their sinfulness, but at the same time to see your love and willingness to forgive them if they will turn to you. We commit them to you now. Help them to believe in Jesus. Now when our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying together, if you would like Jesus Christ to come into your life, if you want Him to forgive you of your sin, if you want to know that you will go to heaven when you die, if you want to be sure you are saved from future judgment, would you just lift your hand up right now and I will pray for you. If you want Christ to come into your life, lift your hand up and I will pray for you. God bless you. Let's just lift your hand up. I can see it. God bless you and you... and anybody else? You want God's forgiveness tonight? You want Christ to come into your life. Lift your hand up. I will pray for you. God bless you there in the back. Anybody else? God bless you there in the back there, young lady. Anybody else? In the very back row there. God bless you. Girl there on the end of the row. Anyone else? You want God's forgiveness tonight. You want to be sure you are saved. Lift your hand up. I will pray for you. Anybody else? Raise your hand now. God bless you there in the aisle. God bless you as well. Maybe some of you have fallen away from the Lord. God bless you too. There was a time you walked with the Lord, but you have gone astray. But you want to come back to Him again tonight. You want to return to Christ. Well why don't you lift your hand up. Let me pray for you tonight. You can make a recommitment to Jesus. God bless you. Just lift your hand up wherever you are. God bless you. God bless all of you. Father I thank you now for each one of these. And I ask you to give them the strength to stand up and follow you. We commit them to you now. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
You know everyone that Jesus calls. He calls openly and publicly. And we are going to do the same in a moment. Our worship group is going to lead us in a song of invitation. And I am going to ask if you raise your hand with me during that last moment of prayer that when the song begins you would get up out of your seat, walk down here to the front of the stage, and stand here. And when you all get here I am going to lead you in a prayer of commitment. A recommitment. Maybe you did not raise your hand but you want to make this commitment a recommitment to Christ. You come too.
Now you might ask, well Greg what do I need to walk down some aisle for. Well because Jesus said if you will acknowledge me before people I will acknowledge you before my Father and the angels in heaven. But He added if you deny me before people I will deny you before the Father and His angels. This is a way to acknowledge Him publicly. To say you are serious. That you mean business. Maybe you did not lift your hand but you want to make this commitment. You come as well.
So again if you raise your hand even if you did not. You want Christ to come into your life. You want your sin forgiven. You want to be saved. You want to go to heaven when you die. Or you have fallen away from the Lord and you want to come back to Him. Right now as the group sings, get up out of your seat. Come on down here and stand. And I'll pray for you when you get here. Get up and come now. Come on.