“Make the Gospel Active”(Acts 16:13-31)

 

In this passage we see three very different people who are saved by the Gospel. 
 
And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
Acts 16:15 ESV
 
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Acts 16:31 ESV
 
In these two verses we see an important characteristic of the Gospel. The Gospel is active and flows from person to those around them. The Gospel does not contain itself to one person. It must spread out and overflow into others.
 
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
Acts 16:25 ESV
 
Most people sleep at night, but we see here that prisoners are listening to Paul and Silas singing and praying to God.
 
One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.
Acts 16:14 ESV
 
Lydia was a worshiper of God, and therefore a Christian, yet she needed the Gospel. We may worship God, but we still need to hear the Word. We are redeemed sinners that need the Gospel. 
 
Also, Paul had not sought out a certain group of people to preach. He came across these ladies and started to tell them about the Gospel.
 
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.
Acts 16:16 ESV
 
The next person that is saved by the Gospel is the slave girl who makes money from an evil spirit. There are many people who use evil to profit, but the Gospel is for them too. Criminals are still responsible and will need to pay their debts to society, yet they are not our enemies. God loves them as he loves us. The Gospel is for them as well.
 
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.”
Acts 16:27-28 ESV
 
The third person that is saved by the Gospel is the prison guard. Paul could have let the guard kill himself, but instead Paul stopped the guard from killing himself. Paul did not run away but stayed to give the gospel to a person who was persecuting him.
 
God needs to soften our hearts. It takes hard tools to break up the soil to allow seeds to grow in the soil. It can be hard on us as God softens our hearts. We sometimes just focus on the sin and not on loving the sinner. The Holy Spirit has given us the power to love others, the others who may be unlovable.
 
We should not focus on the fact that in this passage Paul was freed from prison and he praised God while in chains. The focus should be that nothing can stop the Gospel. 
 
Our lives are not guaranteed to have happy endings or an easy life. 
 

• Holy Spirit 지금 여기 계신 성령님

• Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me 나 아닌 예수를 통해

• Hosanna 호산나

"Mission"(Acts 16:19-34)

 Acts 16:19-34

 We are all called to be missionaries although this does not mean we have to quit our current jobs and leave our homes to parts unknown. Having said that, we are still required to be the salt and the light to the world to show them the message of Christ. It is in our daily lives now that we are missionaries.

 

Paul was one missionary from the Bible that spread the Word of God and is an example for us to study when we talk about mission work. Paul preached in many places and suffered because of his preaching. He was put in prison for his preaching of the Gospel. In this age, most of us will not face the same persecution as Paul, but we will still face difficulties.

 

God calls us to mission and the holy spirit works through us. This means we must follow where the spirit leads us. Paul and Silas wanted to go to Asia, but Jesus wanted Paul and Silas to go to Macedonia. Eventually, Paul and Silas ended up in Philippi where they meet Lydia and are later arrested to healing a demon possessed fortune teller.

 

In prison, we do not have the freedom to do what we want. It is not a place you would want to go. While many people would have lamented their unfortunate circumstances being in prison, Paul and Silas prayed and praised God. They found joy and purpose despite their hard circumstances. We do not read that God heard their prayers, but we do read that the prisoners heard these praises and prayers. God used Paul and Silas mightily in the most unlikely place.

 

John Wesley understood that we must preach the Gospel to everyone in every possible place that God wants us to preach. At one time the Anglican Church only wanted John Wesley to preach to the congregation and in church, but Wesley preached everywhere he could. Even though the Anglican church tried to restrict where he could preach, he continued to reach out to lost souls at every chance he could.

 

If God has sent you somewhere, it is because there is a mission there and this is our mission field. God led Paul and Silas to prison, and, despite the horrible circumstances, they stay after the miraculous earthquake which open all the doors and loosed all the chains.

 

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.

Acts 16:25-26 ESV

 

Paul did not see this as a sign to escape from the prison. Paul knew he could escape, yet Paul stayed behind to do God’s work and save more people. Paul also knew that the guard would be executed if the prisoners had escaped, so he stayed behind to save the guard’s life. Paul understood that his mission was at the prison.

 

And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, 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.

Acts 16:31-33 ESV

 

Today, many missions have been closed because of COVID-19. Our environment is not good to go out and meet new people.  Mission work does not have to stop. We must follow the way of Jesus and bear our cross. We must have a good relationship with God, and this is done by praying and praising God. Our worship will help us to complete our mission which God has given us.

Worship Songs

Come To The Altar

O Praise The Name 

Living Hope