Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayer for attention to Acts, the Apostles, chapter
16, and reading from our text, verse 17. The same followed Paul and us
and cried, saying, and this is the word of my spirit, this next
part, these men, are the servants of the Most High God, which show
unto us the way of salvation. Acts chapter 16 and verse 17. This word, this proclamation,
is made by a most unlikely character and from a most unlikely source. We read in the previous verse,
it came to pass as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed
with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters
much gain by sooth saying, the same followed Paul and us. It is her, this damsel, that
is making this declaration, and we read in the following verse
that she did this many days. But then Paul was grieved, no
doubt feeling for that poor woman under the spirit of divination,
no doubt also that it became wearing after a while to have
this all the time, and using that occasion to command the
spirit in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to come out of her
and he came out. We read in another part of the
word, thou believest that there is one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe and tremble. It is not told us here whether
this woman herself was saved or not. But certainly what she
did was a vital link in bringing Paul and Silas into the prison. We read that when her masters
saw the hope of their gains was gone, They caught Paul and Silas
and threw them into the marketplace under the rulers. And it was
through that means that they were brought into the prison. There they sang, there they praised
God, there they prayed, and there the Lord answered with the earthquake. There the jailer and his household
were brought into real concern Concerned for their souls to
cry out, and may this be the cry of each one that hears the
word this morning, what must I do to be saved? And the clear
answer that was given them, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and
thou shalt be saved and thy house. And then we read how that they
spoke the word to all of them in the house and so It was a
vital, vital step. And remember, this, what we read
of here, is the beginning of the Philippian church. The epistle
to the Philippians is written to this church that was begun
in this way. Again, this is one of these chapters
that gives a very clear example of what a new birth looks like. In John 3, our Lord insists on
a spiritual birth, a new birth. Ye must be born again. In John
4, there are four instances of how it looked in that chapter.
In here, we have two incidences. We have when they went to prayer
and there was by the riverside Lydia and she attended to the
things that were spoken by Paul. We read, whose heart the Lord
opened, that is the new birth, that is the work of God. A heart
open to receive the word, to attend to that word, to listen,
to pay heed to it, to take it seriously. That's what she did. Don't ever despise. If the Lord
has inclined your heart to listen to the word, to seriously inquire
into the things of God and what we have before us this morning,
the way of salvation. Lydia, she did that. She was
blessed. She was baptised. She followed. the apostle. Later on, when they
were let out of prison, they came to her house and how that
she was such a succor of them, a help, right, given to hospitality
right from the beginning. And this church was born really
out of persecution, out of trials that the apostles went through.
It was also born of a very clear direction for the Apostle Paul,
Silas, Luke, who writes the account here in Acts, were to come to
them. They had been sent forth, and
in the previous chapter there had been the council that they
held to consider the question, should Gentiles be required to
be circumcised to be saved. And the verdict of the apostles,
and especially of Peter, who had seen the Gentiles converted
without that, that it was not necessary to salvation. And so
Paul and Silas were bringing this message to the Gentile churches
And it might seem strange then, in the beginning of this chapter,
that they had Timotheus with them, who the Jews, they all
knew that his father was a Greek, so he's uncircumcised. And they
circumcised him. You say, why, Paul, did you do
this? Because you are going about to
tell people that they don't need to be. But the reason why he
did was because it would have been a stumbling block. it would
have prevented the Jews from even listening to him. So he
took that stumbling block out of the way, not that it was required,
not that it was saving, but that it was something that hindered
the gospel. And it's a good lesson for us
that preach and for all that would be useful in spreading
the word that it needs that things that would be a real hindrance
or a stumbling block be moved out of the way. After they had
removed that, then they could talk, and then they were prepared
to listen. But then they went through the
cities, delivering this verdict from the council at Jerusalem,
and we read the churches were established in the faith, increased
in number daily. And then they were forbidden,
forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, a shut
door. Later on, we have the word preached
there, of course. We have in the Revelation seven
letters to the churches in Asia. So that wasn't a door that was
shut always. It was at this time, but later
on it was opened. And then they tried to go, they
say, that means tried, to go into Bithynia, but the spirit
suffered them not. They found no freedom of spirit
upon their spirits to be able to go there. And then Paul has
this vision. In the night, there stood a man
in Macedonia, prayed him, saying, come over into Macedonia and
help us. And Paul immediately realizes
this. is to go and preach the gospel. The Lord is calling us to preach
the gospel there. And it's interesting when they
go there that he says in verse 12, we were in that city abiding
certain days. In a way, they're waiting for
the Lord to open a door. And they went to then the riverside
on the Sabbath day. And there the Lord began to work. It's a good thing to learn from
the Lord's dealings with Paul, with Silas, shut doors, open
doors, leading of the Lord, bringing a preacher and a people together
that ends in salvation. And the Lord uses many different
means to bring the word to his people. There's nothing too hard
for him. The Lord, when he has his people,
will make sure that they do hear the word, make sure that they
are brought to faith, brought to salvation. There will be none
lost for whom the Lord shed his precious blood on Calvary's tree. But I want to look at this word
that this damsel was saying as she viewed these men. She was
speaking the truth. Though she was possessed with
the spirit of divination, she couldn't but speak the truth. These men, Paul and Silas, are
the servants of the Most High God, which show unto us the way
of salvation." And may we just remark in this, it's one thing
to know that a minister or a church is showing the way of salvation,
The question is asked, have we heard it? Have we taken it? Have we embraced it? Have we
believed it? Are we also being saved? Are we a Lydia? Are we a Jayla? Are we one that has believed
to the saving of our souls? It's not enough to be able to
say, I know that the church I attend shows the way of salvation. Do
you know Him? And is it blessed to you? Are
you saved? We are not bystanders on the
race, commenting on Him. We are those that are running
the race. We have a song to be saved or
lost. We have but the day of grace.
And so these things, the message of salvation, is very, very important
to us. May we join prayer, especially
each time that we hear The word preached that the Lord would
so bless it to us, open our hearts and move us to be true disciples,
true believers, true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. These
gifts and blessings come through the gospel. They are the provision
of Almighty God to sinners. And we'll see from this word
how it is that the Lord brings it to those that he will save. So I want to look with the Lord's
helm at this word. Firstly, the way of salvation. Our text says, these men are
the servants of the Most High God which show unto us the way
of salvation. What is the way of salvation? Then secondly, the man that made
it known on earth. the servants of the Most High
God. They are the men that make that
salvation known on earth. And then thirdly, the method
used in making known the way of salvation. It is not just
in word, but in the lives of God's servants. Notice what she
says here. Not which tell unto us the way
of salvation, but which show unto us. The men that are preaching
it are walking it. And there's a great big difference.
So firstly, the way of salvation. What is salvation? Salvation
is deliverance from hell and a deliverance to heaven. It is
a deliverance from under the condemnation of God to be brought
to be a friend of God and one with God, from being an enemy
to a friend, From being under condemnation to receive the other
side, there is therefore no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. So it begins. It begins with
the malady. It begins with the fall. It begins
with the sentence of death upon men that we are all under the
curse. Cursed is everyone that continueth
not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do
them, but that no man is justified by the deeds of the law. It is
evident because we are told that there is none that doeth good.
No, not one. The law was given that all the
world might become guilty before God. And so the state, the condition
of man has fallen. is as what is one of our hymns
says, at peace with hell, with God at war. Our language is by
nature, depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. Our language is that we have
no desire, no love to the Lord, to his ways, we do not have a
hearing ear, we are actually Not only under the sentence of
death, but we are dead spiritually. One day our body will die, and
it slowly is dying. Every illness, every affliction,
every weakness, all is a reminder to us. There's a little knock
that gets louder and louder. This body shall soon return to
dust. You shall die. Where will your
soul be then? Because man is not only just
body like the beast of the earth, but also his soul as well. And
that soul lives eternally. That soul shall never cease to
exist. And unless there is a change
between when we are born and when we die, our soul will be
in outer darkness, in eternal torments, under the wrath of
God, for eternity. It is vital that we know the
way of salvation. Men have all sorts of devices
and ways that they think that they will get to heaven, that
it will be all right, that it'll be well with them when they die.
Our text says, the way of salvation. There is only one. Our Lord said,
if you believe not that I am he, ye shall perish in your sins. There is none other name given
among men whereby we must be saved. There is only one way. And the Lord says, I am the way,
the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. And so the way of salvation,
just the very setting forth of one way, is absolutely vital. When we think of how many different
religions there are in the world, and how much even amongst Christianity,
there are so many that call themselves Christians that are not in the
way of salvation. Those that are looking to the
law for their acceptance with God, looking for their charitable
deeds, looking for their good deeds, looking for their reading
of the Bible, or their prayers, or that they're not so bad as
others, all of those will go into outer darkness. Every man
that trusts in his own righteousness, his own goodness, is not in the
way of salvation and will most certainly perish. By the deeds
of the law shall no man be justified. The deeds of the law is obeying
the law of God shall not bring about a situation where one is
accounted guiltless or free from condemnation. By the deeds of
the law, no man living shall be justified. By the law is the
knowledge of sin. It does not save. It shows our
condemnation. It shows how we need salvation. We need saving. And so the way
of salvation, in a way, is twofold. One, it must exclude and take
away every other way. It's something that is very offensive
to modern man. Man likes to think, well, there's
lots of different ways to heaven. We want to be very charitable.
We want to have that sympathy and empathy with anyone that
believes and is sincere. The Apostle Paul says in the
letter to the Romans concerning the Jews that he longed, his
own countrymen, that he longed to be saved, that they had a
zeal for God. You'd think if you have a zeal
for God, you see someone with a zeal for God, you'd be pleased,
you'd be glad. But he said, without knowledge.
They were going about establishing their own righteousness and had
not submitted themselves. unto the righteousness of God.
You might have a zeal for God. You might be religious. You might
be very regular at the means of grace. You might be one that
prays a lot. The Pharisees were. They were
known for long prayers, but they were out of the secret. They
weren't saved because they were looking to their own goodness
to be saved. And so do be aware of this. There is a way that seemeth right
unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. And our
Lord spoke of two ways. One was a broad way with a wide
gate, and one was a narrow way with a straight gate, a very
narrow gate. And He says that there were many
that went into that broad way. Many there did, because it was
a broad way. It allowed for anything. You
can think what you like, do what you like, believe what you like,
and many people go in that way. It is every man does that which
is right in his own eyes. But then there's a narrow way,
a straight game, and few there be that find it. Why? Because
wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction. and many there be that go in
there at that. The way, the true way, the only
way, is narrow in that it is in through one way, one name,
and through the way of the scriptures, the teaching of the Word of God,
and that alone. Everything that we believe, everything
that we act, should be taken from the Word of God. and the
way of salvation is clearly set forth in the Word of God. The central person of salvation
is our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. John is very clear in
his epistle, second epistle. He says, if any man come and
bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither
bid Him God's speed. And the doctrine is the teaching
concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, whose Son is He. He is the Eternal
Son of the Eternal God. He is part of the Trinity, Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost. The Father is God, the Son is
God, the Holy Ghost is God. And the second person in that
Godhead, the Eternal Son, by whom God made the worlds, He
came into this world, was made man and dwelt among us, having
two natures, his divine nature, his human nature, and yet one
person. And in that nature, as that man,
the God-man, the man Christ Jesus, he lived a perfect life. He obeyed
the law of God perfectly. He, by his works and by the miracles
that he did, proclaimed himself to be the son of God with power,
and his father bear witness, this is my beloved son, in whom
I am well pleased. And then, at God's appointed
time, he was to go to Calvary, taken by wicked hands and crucified
and slain. But the word is clear, he was
delivered by the determinate counsel and full knowledge of
God. He is the Lamb of God. And his
purpose, his coming, was to take the punishment that was due to
his people. He was to bear their sins in
his own body on the tree. He was to be made a curse for
us, for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth upon
a tree. He was to endure the wrath of
God in our place. He was to lay down his life and
take it again. And it is through His death and
through His resurrection that there is salvation, and only
through that way. It is trusting that He put away
our sins on Calvary's tree, that He rose again for our justification,
that He is the only way. It is trusting in Him, believing
what God hath testified concerning His Son, that whosoever believeth
on him should not perish, but should have eternal life. This
is the way of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel
is the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel is contrasted
with the law of God. The law of God is severe, very
severe. We cannot fulfil it, it condemns
us. It is like a big rod. It beats
us. It is fearful. We cannot obey
God's holy righteous law. But the gospel, when a soul has,
like the Philippine jailer, being alarmed, being convicted of his
sin, trembling, crying, desiring right from the heart, what must
I do to be saved? Then comes the Gospel. Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved in thine
house. It doesn't come with a big stick.
It doesn't come with threats. If you don't do this, you'll
be damned. If you don't believe, if you
don't repent, yes, it is vital that there be re-believing and
that there be repentance. But the Lord Jesus Christ is
exalted. to give repentance and remission
of sins unto his people. The gospel is gentle. You know,
when Esau came and they met and there was peace between him and
Jacob, then Esau wanted to go before or go with the flocks
and herds. And Jacob said, no, no, because
they are young and the mothers with children. If thou should
overdrive them one day, then they should all perish. The gospel
is that still small voice, is gentle, is drawing, it is an
invitation to poor sinners. It doesn't drive, it doesn't
come with a big stick. If one is trying to preach the
gospel and using the word must all the time, then that is not
the gospel. You're using the law and making
it like the gospel. The poor gospel is being treated
really like Moses and Aaron when they brought forth water out
of the rock when Israel was rebelling. Waters of strife. The Lord said
to them, speak unto the rock. Why did they speak? Because it
had already been smitten once. But they didn't. Moses, he struck
the rock twice. He said, must we bring you water
out of this rock, ye rebels? And God said that they did not
sanctify him before the congregation. God does not say, must I show
mercy? Must I forgive your sins? Must
I present the gospel before you? He doesn't give it begrudgingly,
and he doesn't give it in a way that he gets the people of God
and he drives them, he pushes them, he threatens them to believe
and to accept and to embrace and to repent. No. He invites. The law is what drives. The law is what condemns. The law is what makes a poor
sinner flee from the wrath to come. It's the law that brings
condemnation in the Lord Jesus Christ is that which draws the
soul to see the law fulfilled by our Lord, to see what He has
done. It melts the soul with love.
It draws to embrace Him and to believe Him. Those who are so
drawn don't need to be beaten. They love. They love. Repentance is given. Godly sorrow
is given and you You have that in these cases here with Lydia
and with the jailer. And you have those that embrace
that gospel. What good news that all is required
is to believe. What good news that the Son of
God has suffered in our place. What good news that there is
forgiveness with Him. And what good news that He is
able and He will change the heart, renew our will and turn our feet
to Zion's hill. Salvation is of God. It is God
that worketh in you to will and to do of His own good pleasure. Tis His work. He which hath begun
a good work in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. which show unto us the way of
salvation. That way of salvation is through
faith in Jesus Christ alone. It is through believing in Him
alone, which show unto us the way of salvation. I want to look secondly at the
men that made it known on earth. This woman is saying these men
are the servants of the Most High God. God uses men. When Cornelius, he was centurion
and serving God, was to hear the gospel. An angel appeared
to him and bid him to go to Joppa and call for a man called Peter. The angel did not preach the
way of salvation, did not set in before Cornelius. It had to be a sinner. It had to be a man. It had to
be Peter. And Peter was prepared to go.
And he went, and the word spoken was blessed by the Holy Spirit
from heaven, and those that believed were baptized. But those men,
though being men, they are God's servants. We that preach the
word, we preach not ourselves, but Jesus Christ the Lord. We do not preach our own word,
We preach the word of God, that is our commission, preach the
word. Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature, the good news of salvation. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned. And as we
go forth, our master is in heaven. Our Lord has said, he that receiveth
you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that
sent me. There is a chain, a link. We're
used to that here below, aren't we? Even a child at school will
be used to those that are messengers, those that are not the authority,
like the headmaster is over the school, and the headmaster might
then want to send a letter home to the students, telling of things
that need to be done or brought into the school. And the letter
is typed up and written by the secretary and is taken home. And the children going home,
they might say to their parents, you don't have to do that, because
I know that the secretary was typing that up. It wasn't the
headmaster, but it's got his name on it. And just because
another has been used to bring that letter, doesn't lessen the
authority of it. And so with the Word of God,
the inspired, infallible Word of God, written over some 1,500
years by 40 different authors, is all the Word of God. Every
word that is written is inspired, is God breathed. They wrote as
men, they wrote and their characters shine through. But what was written
was what God meant to be written. And so then in the preaching
of the gospel as well, if we are faithful to the word and
we preach what the word is and bring the word of God before
you, then we are the servants of the most high God. It is counted
of the Lord that a servant be faithful. that we speak the word. And the Apostle Paul, when he
was preaching, he was heard by the Bereans, and the Bereans,
day by day, they searched the scriptures daily whether these
things were so. They took the preached word,
and they searched the scriptures. It gave them what to look for. We know that many of them believed
because they did this. You hear the word this morning,
do you search the scriptures? Do you base your searching during
the week on the preaching that you've heard on the Lord's Day?
If there are things you say, oh, I don't agree with the minister
on that, that's not right, don't believe in that, well, you search
the scriptures. You see whether it is so, comparing
scripture with scripture, don't just dismiss it. We must stand before our God. We must give an account at the
end as to our ministry and how we have spoken and how we have
warned and how we have set before you the gospel and not mangled
it or not misrepresented it or not made it to appear like the
law when it is the gospel and not the law. It is vital that
This is done and this is proclaimed by men. And that we are God's
servants. And that, as was said with the
Thessalonians, when Paul brought the word to them, they received
it not as the word of man, but as it is in truth the word of
God. When our Lord says in John 15,
my sheep, they hear my voice, they follow me. How do we think
that works out in practice? Does the Lord speak from heaven?
Do we hear an audible voice? Is it not like it was when Samuel,
who did not yet know the Lord, the Lord first started calling
him and he thought it was Eli? How many times, one listening
to the word read or preached, think, oh, that's the voice of
the minister. Yes, it is the voice of the minister.
The Lord speaks through his servants. Very often in one sinner's case,
the Lord may use several of his servants and make it very clear
that it is the Lord that is speaking through his word. That word that
is received is the Lord's word. That is why We are given the
commission to preach the Word, so men hear it, and they hear
it as the Word of God. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God. It hath pleased God through the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Foolish because
want a poor sinner getting up and Reading the Word, proclaiming
the Word, explaining the Word, teaching the Word, and that Word
is aimed not at the head, though we do receive the Word and understand
it in our minds, but it's received by the heart. That's the difference
between a lecture and preaching, between a Bible study and preaching. The preaching is aimed at the
heart. It's received by the heart. It's
not just as schoolboys learn their task. We are to be then
servants, as rightly set forth here. These men are the servants
of the Most High God. It's a very sad thing. When those
in a congregation, maybe it be they're being reproved or instructed
in way, and they say, oh, I'm not going to hear that from you.
I am going to hear it from God. I'm going to believe God, not
you. and they despise a minister because he's telling them things
they don't want to hear or want to obey. They don't recognise
that that minister is a servant of the Lord. It's a sad thing
when those under the sound of the word disdain, despise, won't
listen, won't obey those that the Lord has sent over them. We are to esteem those, and I
don't just say that because I'm a minister and a pastor myself.
The Word of God is clear, that we are to know them that are
over us, that minister the Word of God. We are to esteem them
as who we are. We are not just going to warfare
at our own charges, just deciding to preach or to do this or that. the servants of the Most High
God. What a sobering, solemn thought
for us in the ministry and those of you that hear. Onto, lastly,
the method used in making known the way of salvation. Our text
says, which show unto us the way of salvation. So it is not
just teaching and preaching. It is, as we have set forth,
the preaching of the Word, the preaching of Jesus Christ. But
it is also to show, to show unto us. The Word speaks of us being
examples to the flock. The Apostle Paul, especially
in his sufferings, in his persecutions, in his path, what an example. If there was any that thought,
well, this man is setting forth the way of salvation, it is wonderful. If you believe in Jesus, then
you'll have a lovely, wonderful life. There are, most solemnly,
those prosperity preachers, especially in America, that have lots of
cars and jets and billionaires, and they tell people that if
only you give enough money to the church, then you'll be healed. And if you're not healed, you
haven't given enough money, or there's something wrong with
you, you haven't got enough faith. And there's thousands that follow
them and give freely, but they're being manipulated, they're being
lied to. And what a solemn example they
are to the people. People, they like to be rich,
they want to be good, so they're looking at those preachers and
giving them money like they would in a lottery, hoping that they're
going to get these things on earth. But with the Apostle Paul,
what kind of a picture do we have here? We have one that is
looking for heaven, running the race set before him, looking
unto Jesus. He is persecuted for the Word. He is suffering. He's walking
in in all sorts of deprivations. He has this messenger of Satan,
thorn in the flesh, to buffet him. Some affliction, some weakness,
some think it was poor eyesight, he didn't recognize the high
priest. And he speaks of the Corinthians,
that they would pluck out their own eyes and give him, and it
gives that indication of what his affliction was. Many of the
Lord's people are afflicted. They are an afflicted and poor
people. But they shall call upon the
name of the Lord. In the world, says our Lord,
ye shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world. In me ye shall have peace. This
world is not our rest, it is polluted. But the Lord uses sickness,
afflictions, trials, and uses it for good for his people, makes
them to long to look for heaven above. And the ministers of the
gospel, many of us in different ways, whether in ourselves personally,
or in our families, or our wives, we know what affliction is, trial
is, troubles are, we know what besetting sins are, We know what
it is to be a sinner ourselves and to be saved ourselves. What
we set before you is what we ourselves hope in, what our hope
for heaven is. And we are not perfect. Those
that know us know that very well. But we show the way of salvation
as a sinner to sinners, as those that are imperfect to those that
are also imperfect. but pointing to a perfect salvation,
a perfect Jesus, a way that is for sinners. What a beautiful
name. His name shall be called Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins. In my desire, sinners can say,
and none but they, how precious is the Saviour. And really not
only the ministers of the gospel, Every one of God's people are
His servants. Every one of them show the way
of salvation. Every one of them is not as a
light that is under a bushel, but the Lord says you are the
salt of the earth. Salt and light in this world. Wherever the people of God come,
we show forth the praises of Him. who hath called us out of
nature's darkness and into His marvellous light. Are we living
examples? Are we beacons? Would we rightly
like to say to all of those round about, I would that your life
would be like my life, your hope be like my hope, that you might
have the God I have, that you might have the faith I have,
you might live the life that I live, Paul, he says, when he
preached to the king, he says to him, I would that thou wouldst
be not only almost a Christian, but altogether such as I am,
except this chain. Many of God's people have something,
some affliction, some trial they would not wish on anyone else.
It was Paul's chain, he said to the king. But they would wish,
they would desire, that they might know the secret of the
Lord, the faith in Jesus Christ, and the blessing of the Lord
that maketh rich, out of no sorrow with them, a good home beyond
the grave, and a heavenly home to look forward to, and to long
to be there in that home. So the method used, yes it is
preaching, but it's using men that are walking that way, men
that are following Jesus. The Apostle Paul said, be ye
followers of me, as I also am of Christ. These men are the
servants of the Most High God, which show unto us the way of
salvation. And may it be that he hears the
word this morning able to say that Lord has shown me the way
of salvation. Do not rest until you know it
and you have it and are persuaded that you are in that way. Dear
friends, may our souls be precious and may this gospel be precious
to us, the way of salvation through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.