WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?

Acts 16:16-40

Key Verse 30

Two weeks ago Jonathan’s message helped us realize the importance of having the will and vision of the Lord as a regular part of our lives, for as he reminded us, “Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing.”  William built on this and showed the great victory we can have as we are in the will of God.  Paul had tremendous journey mercy on his trip from Troas to Macedonia and then a few days after his arrival was able to meet a woman named Lydia who he lead to the Lord Jesus along with her whole family.  We remember the picture of a water skier holding on tight behind a jet airplane.  And Paul was doing a good job holding on.  He had God’s vision.  He was praying daily.  He experienced wonderful success in bringing a whole family to Christ in the matter of days.  He was really fired up.  But now that he was serving the will and work of God effectively, what was he to expect next?  That’s what we’ll be covering today. This passage gives us some great action scenes of Paul fighting the spiritual war from the front battle lines.

Part 1. Fighting the good fight of faith.

So what do you think Paul encountered after serving God’s will, bringing a whole family to Christ very successfully?  Trouble, of course!!!  We shouldn’t think that as we start serving the will of God all troubles disappear.  Why would that be the case?  As we know, we live in a world where there are not only physical battles and wars but where there are also spiritual ones; in fact the spiritual ones are constant until Jesus comes again.  Do you realize this?  So what happens if you in the middle of war invade the enemy’s camp, shoot missiles at one of their bases, and take captive some of their men?  Do you think the enemy is going to fold their hands, shrug their shoulders, and go to sleep for the night?  NO WAY!!!  They’re going to fight back, guaranteed.  And this is exactly what Paul had just done.  He had invaded Macedonia, shot missiles of prayer and the word of God there, and taken a whole family of the enemy’s people captive, bringing them over to join the side of Jesus Christ.  Satan, to say the least, was furious.  Let’s see how this enemy fought back.  Look at verses 16 and 17.

“16Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17This girl 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.”

What kind of attack was this exactly?  It was a spiritual attack using the weapon called, “distraction”.  Let’s call it, “The dart of distraction.”  The purpose of this dart was to distract Paul and his company from the will and work of God that they were serving so well.  They were on their way to the place of prayer when suddenly a creepy and annoying girl came along and started following them everywhere they went.  Not only did she follow them, but as she went she kept shouting the same phrase over and over like a broken record. "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”  At first we might think that she was serving a good purpose for at least the content of her shouting was true.  But the passage indicates that Paul became very troubled.  Personally, I believe that the way she shouted this was in a voice not of sincerity but in a voice of sarcasm, making light of this serious gospel message that they were trying to preach. Probably, because of her disturbance, they didn’t pray that day at the place of prayer as they intended to. And Paul couldn’t preach the gospel peacefully either.  In fact the passage says that this went on for many days, without mentioning any good works by Paul and his company during that time.  Surely she was a distraction, and at least for several days, the enemy’s tactic worked.

You see, the enemy doesn’t really mind if we’re in their territory – like Macedonia or the United States or USC or Citrus College or CSULB or wherever else God may have you pioneering – just as long as we’re distracted while we’re there.  For when we’re distracted, we’re neutralized. Paul had a clear vision from God and came to Macedonia like a soldier on a mission, with a clear focus to help save the lost.  But the enemy just threw a big dart of distraction at him.  Many of us as well may have heard God’s call and vision very personally – “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”  We had great intentions of doing this, and even started off with some success.  But has the enemy succeeded in distracting us in any way?  There are a great number of things the enemy could use to distract us, but I’ll mention just a few.  There’s video games, television, and the millions of internet websites which we can end up surfing for hours if we’re not disciplined.  Of course these things cannot all be considered sinful in and of themselves, but do they distract many many Christians, even the mission-centered ones?  Yes, so we have to watch out.  And there are many people too who can completely waste our time and focus, some of them who may have evil spirits.  Maybe what distracts you is completely different; I’ll let you think about this yourself.  But I hope you’ll think about it.

(Verse 18) “Finally Paul became so troubled by her that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!”  And the spirit left her.”

Paul realized that it was a spiritual problem, not just an annoying girl.  So he said to the spirit, not the girl, but the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!"  He used the name of Jesus Christ not just as a magic password but as a name that Paul knew in the spiritual world has power and authority over evil spirits.

Paul finally fought off this first attack of the enemy, the dart of distraction.  And some of our distractions too must be fought off for some don’t just go away.  In the process of this, he freed a girl from an evil spirit, another blow to the work of the devil.  But again, the war is still in progress and will not be over until Jesus comes again.  So of course more attacks are sure to come.  Verses 19 through 24 tell us how Paul and Silas came to be locked up in maximum security prison.  It all stemmed from the fact that Paul had driven the spirit out of the girl.  You see, this girl had made a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.  But without the spirit it was all over.  No more business.  No more exploiting this girl to get rich.  They were furious.  This girl was free of her evil spirit and obnoxious behavior but they didn’t care.  Their hope was all tied up in money.  Look at verse 19.  “When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.”  They were stripped, beaten, and flogged and eventually thrown into prison all without being given a trial.  Surely what 1 Timothy 6:10 says is true, “…the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”

What now?  This big blow from the enemy not only caused them bodily injury but left them locked up in a dark cold, prison cell.  In my opinion, this was the biggest trick Satan had up his sleeve.  His goal was to cause doubt and despair in their hearts so that they would lay down and pout and then maybe even give up on the mission work. Doubt – “Does God really love me?”  “Is serving Jesus’ world mission work really the best use of my life?”  “Lord, is this your reward for all our hard work for you?”  Despair – “I can’t take it.  I’m not cut out for this intense mission work.  Oh Lord, you called the wrong person for this…”  There’s always this desire to avoid the pain and suffering which comes from our life of mission.  But Paul said in 2 Tim. 3:12 “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

It’s important to realize that this was not another work of God to block their attempt to serve him in Macedonia.  God called them to Macedonia.  The fact that Paul was trying to pioneer Macedonia was based on God’s vision to him.  So Paul being thrown into prison had nothing to do with God punishing him, rebuking him, or frustrating his efforts as he had done earlier, in the message Jonathan gave.  Rather, this trouble had the fingerprints of Satan all over it.  That’s why it’s important to realize where God has called us, and serve him based on this vision today, tomorrow, and everyday.  When we’re serving God according to his vision for us and yet run into difficulties we shouldn’t doubt his love or wonder if he’s blocking us once again.  Rather we must understand that persecutions and troubles are part of the spiritual war.  However, God will use even these troubles from the enemy to accomplish his will when we keep our faith.  In this case, God used the enemy’s persecution so Paul could meet the jailer.  I think Paul understood this well.  The vision he had of the man of Macedonia crying out for help was still burning in his heart.  Could it be that there was such a man crying out like this from the prison where he was just taken?  Of course Paul is human, right?  So probably he did suffer from some discouraging thoughts.  But, he fought the good fight, the spiritual battle, very courageously, and overcame, and so did Silas who was with him.  How did they do it?  Look at verse 25.

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”

“Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey”

This prayer and hymn singing was very significant.  It was the climax of the battle, and through this it became obvious that Paul and Silas had stood their ground and by faith had won the victory over the devil’s attack.  Their prayer and hymn singing completely extinguished any remaining traces of doubt and despair.  The enemy had them afflicted with bodily wounds and thrown into a prison cell.  But Paul and Silas overcame.  And they weren’t just barely staying afloat, or barely hanging in there either.  They were praying and singing hymns to God, even at midnight. They hadn’t at all given up.  Rather their faith had been refined and was now shining through brighter than ever.  And you know what; the kingdom of God was beginning to advance in the prison as well, for verse 25 tells us that “the other prisoners were listening to them.”

Part 2. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.

Let’s see what happened next.  Verse 26.

26Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. 27The 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.”

In response to the prayer and praise of Paul and Silas by which they demonstrated faith, God sent a miracle to the prison that night. And it was definitely a miracle, for although the earthquake could arguably just be called part of nature, an earthquake doesn’t make doors fly open and chains come loose.  The earthquake woke the jailer up too, and to his dismay all the prison doors were open. He thought his life was over, for Roman law was strict when it came to a failed duty like this: severe punishment or death.  He preferred to just end his own life rather than face any cruel punishment or execution that awaited him.  So he tried to kill himself.  But look at verse 28.

“28But Paul shouted to him, “"Don't harm yourself! We are all here!" 29The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

A question might have come to your mind.  I know it was a question in my mind.  What gave this jailer desire to listen to them and to be saved all of a sudden?  I mean, his cry for help seems so sudden.  Personally I think it was a combination of several things: The influence of Paul and Silas during their stay at prison, such as hymn singing and prayer may have made him start thinking.  The joy of Paul and Silas while in prison was certainly an amazing testimony.  Also the condition of the jailer’s heart as his life was at stake might have been another factor, for people are always more serious about life when they’ve faced the real reality of death.  But one more important factor I think was that he was amazed and his heart was moved that all of them, especially Paul, had stuck around to save his life.  This love and grace combined with all the other factors, I think made him interested in finding out more about salvation.  And he knew Paul and Silas were certainly the ones to ask.  He must have known something about salvation, and he must have known that he was a sinner who needed to be saved or why would he ask about how to be saved?  But he didn’t quite have a grasp on how to be saved.  So he asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  He may have thought there was some ceremony to go through or a multi-step process of performing many good works.  But Paul told him clearly how to be saved.  “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…”  Salvation is not a matter of what we do; it is a matter of what Jesus did.  But we must believe in what Jesus did.  He died on the cross to take the punishment for our sin, so that we would be forgiven and have eternal life instead of eternal death.  John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  We must know that we are sinners and need to be saved.  We must then turn to Jesus and believe that his death on the cross can save us from our sins.

Let’s bring this news to the many who have still not heard it, or who are still confused, not knowing what the gospel message really is, and really how to be saved.  And there are many who are still not sure. 

Look at verse 33 (Don’t read)

33At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34The 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 family.

It was the middle of the night but the jailer was so filled with joy that even at that hour he suddenly became the ultimate servant, tending to them like a mother would to her children.  He washed their wounds, cooked up a nice meal, and set it before them, the food steaming with love.  It was all an expression of his gratitude for all who had participated in his salvation.  In between times, he and all his family were baptized.  It was such a glorious and joyful night.  Surely there are no greater joys in our life than the joy of salvation and the joy of seeing others come to it.  They probably didn’t get much sleep that night but who needs sleep when you’re this joyful?!

The next morning the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order to release them.  Now the ordinary person would surely take the opportunity and get out of there.  But Paul was no ordinary person.  To Paul, there was still some unfinished business, and he wasn’t leaving until it was finished.  Let’s take a brief look at the remaining verses to see what I mean.

35When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: "Release those men." 36The jailer told Paul, "The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace." 37But 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." 38The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.

What the magistrates did in punishing Paul and Silas without a trial was totally wrong, not just morally, but according to Roman law since they were Roman citizens.  By Paul not going quietly but requesting that they come and personally escort them, Paul was showing up the enemy, planting fear in their hearts that they better not mess with the Christians any more.  Paul had completely turned the tables on the enemy.  Now they feared him.  If these guys ever tried to cause trouble again Paul could get them arrested for the illegal procedures they had done.  This all made for a freer environment for the newfound Christians there – Lydia and the jailer’s families.

I’d like make just two small comments based on verse 40.

“40After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia's house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they left.”

As we can see, Paul wanted make a visit to this important first Christian family before he moved on.  This verse reminds me that a little encouragement goes a long way and is worthwhile, as even the most diligent of God’s servants like Paul takes the time for this before moving on with his busy mission work.  This reminds me that fellowship too is a part of the will and work of God and should not be ignored as I try to be task oriented.  However, the words “Then they left” suggests to me that as important as fellowship is, we cannot sit around having fellowship forever because there is tons of work to be done in saving lives until Jesus comes again.

In summary we learn that as serve the will and vision of God we will see God start to do amazing things; we’ll feel like a water skier being pulled by a jet plane.  However, our enemy, the devil, will inevitably fight back, causing us hardships and persecutions.  But in all of this, hardship or not, as we keep our faith in God and endure hardships when necessary, we can continually be used to accomplish God’s will of saving many souls.

One Word: Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.