
Stacked Against:
Paul & Silas
Todd Blansit | January 17
Acts 16
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
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?”
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. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.
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. 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.
Miracles start with a mess.
Worship is your weapon, it’s your witness and it’s what you we’re made to do. Your worship may be what God is waiting for, so that He can do the miracle you’ve been asking for.
Paul and Silas had to choose between praise or self-pity.
What I love about this passage of scripture in Acts 16, is that even though Paul and Silas are arrested and in prison, there seems to be a confidence in who they know God to be.
They’re not thankful and singing praise because they are free, they are singing praise because they are confident in who God is, and that He has a plan!
The incredible part of this story isn’t just that their breakthrough came, but when Paul and Silas sang their praises, breakthrough came to the whole prison!! It says when the earthquake shook, ALL the doors were open, and EVERYONE’S bonds were set free!!
When we worship and praise through our hard situations and dark seasons of life, the breakthrough’s that we see become an open door for the people around us to see breakthrough’s in their own lives!
The confidence we gain as we see God move in our lives turns into authority to proclaim and see Him do it again in the lives of others.
In the next chapter as Paul and Silas go to the next city, there is a group of men that again try to arrest them, and as they condemn them they say “these men who have turned the world upside down have come here also..” (Acts 17:6).
It’s so amazing that as we see breakthrough in our own lives, the reputation and testimony of God makes way into places we never thought imaginable.
Who we are connected to during the most important times in life plays a big factor in the outcome.
Each person is responsible for his own choices. But who and what we surround ourselves with affects us, good or bad.
Proverbs 13.20
20 Walk with the wise and become wise;
associate with fools and get in trouble.
According to researcher Sherry Turkle, a common flaw or missing characteristic in our society is belonging. Our desire or longing for deep relationship is not being satisfied by our evermore “connected” on-line society. In our distracted, digital age, she says that we are “all together, yet very alone”
Growth is not an individual pursuit, it is a community project. When we follow Jesus, we don’t get to be in the driver’s seat of our own growth all the time. We have to receive loving and insightful feedback from others. We have to surround ourselves with people who share a similar vision.
Proverbs 12.15
15 The way of fools seems right to them,
but the wise listen to advice.
C.S. Lewis says we need companions for the journey when he explains that “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”
According to research, 80 percent of the “church dropouts” or people that leave the faith never intended to leave the church. It wasn’t part of their plan to not have a vibrant faith, but it happened slowly over time. So why is that? Well, many people fail to realize that being a part of Christian community is hard work.
We need each other!
Once we stop growing we begin dying.
Galatians 2.20
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
If this message spoke to you today and you would like to respond, would you click the link below and let us know? We want to pray for you.
Tap here to let us know that you raised your hand