This evening with the Lord's
help, I'd like to continue our series on questions asked in
scripture. I'm turning this evening to the
question asked by the jailer in Acts chapter 16 and verse
30. Acts 16 and verse 30 says, what
must I do to be saved? The whole verse reads that the
jailer and brought them out, that is Paul and Silas, and said,
sirs, what must I do to be saved? Really one of the most important
questions that any poor sinner could ever ask and a vital one
to be able to answer. I want to come straight to three
points this evening. Firstly, the preparation, or
what was the lead up here, not just for the jailer, but also
for Paul and Silas as well. And then secondly, the question,
the question of our text, what must I do to be saved? And then lastly, the answer that
was given here, and what followed on from that. But firstly, the
preparation, that which went beforehand. It is always good
to notice how the Lord brings together a preacher and his hearer. It's very clear how it was with
Philip and the eunuch. The servant of the Lord was directed
very clearly where to find the eunuch, even though it was in
the desert, a most unlikely place, and there he found him, and there
the word was blessed. Also, it was the angel that directed
the Cornelius to go and find Peter, so that Peter would preach
to him, and that by the means of the preached word, that all
his household would be saved. And each time they were bringing
together of the preacher and of the hearers. In Peter's case,
there is a very clear preparation in the servant of the Lord, making
him willing to go, Jonah, from that same place. Joppa, he fled
rather than go and preach to the Ninevites, to the Gentiles. And Peter, no doubt, would have
done the same unless he was prepared to go by the vision that he was
given. And so also Cornelius was prepared. And when Peter came, he was able
to say, we're all here present before God to hear the word of
the Lord. And so we have it here. We have
the preparation of the Lord's servant and also the way that
God chose to prepare the one that was to be the hero and the
one that was to be saved. And with Paul and Silas, we find
first that as they are seeking to know where to go and where
to preach, they're given two shut doors first. They are told
that they should not at all preach in Asia. Now, of course, we know
that that wasn't forever because we have seven letters recorded
in the Revelation that are written to the churches of Asia. So Asia
wasn't forbidden ever to have the gospel sent to them. It was,
but not that particular time. And so then they tried to go
into Bithynia, and again, it is the spirit that suffered them
not. They felt no liberty of the spirit
to be able to go into that place. No doubt in Providence they could
have done, but didn't feel any liberty of the spirit to do so. And then they were given a vision. Paul was given a vision, come
over into Macedonia and help us. A man in Macedonia, come
over into Macedonia and help us. And we read that then Paul,
when he saw that vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia
assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us all to preach
the gospel unto them. And I believe that when they
went to Macedonia, when they came into Philippi, the chief
city of Macedonia, they would have been looking for the opportunities
to preach the gospel. They would have been expecting
that the Lord would open doors, that there was His people there,
who are those that were going to be prepared to receive the
Word, those that would receive the Word, those that would be
blessed under the preaching of the Word. And it's a very important
thing that the Lord's servants do, especially when you're coming
to those that you might say have never heard the Gospel, never
heard the Word before, that they have some. a real sense that
the Lord has called them to that place. There is an anticipation
that the Lord will bless that word, that the preparation is
not just in those that are to hear it, but there's an expectation
of the preacher as well. Sometimes we don't know, sometimes
we may feel completely out of the spirit, surprised at what
the Lord has been pleased to use the word. But there are those
times that I have felt very clearly in the pulpit, and especially
before standing up to preach, a real sense of the Holy Spirit's
presence and His blessing that is to attend the preaching of
the word. The expectation, when the Lord
has led, directed, hedged up the path, brought you to one
place and not another place, that there is something special
and something to be done in that place. However much discouragement,
and certainly the Apostle did have in due time here, however
much there may be that, there still is the expectation There
are souls there that are to be saved. There is a reason why
the way is hedged up to go to that particular place. And so we read that on this Sabbath
day, the first approach they had was to go down to where prayer
was wont to be made at the riverside. And then they have their first
conversion. Lydia, the Lord opens her heart
to receive the Word. She attended unto the things
which were spoken of Paul. Do you know what a mark that
would be today? There are so many that have no
desire for the things of God, no desire for the Word at all,
and it would be a thing that would be really noticed When
the Word of God is spoken, the men, the women attended to that
Word. They listened. They were interested. And you really notice that difference. And today, it would be a wonderful
thing to see that. Well, the Apostle here and the
inspired Word of God gives the reason for that attention. It
may have been encouragement to some, who may doubt, who wonder
whether really the Lord is working in their hearts, whether what
they have experienced is truly the work of God, will hear the
attendance unto the word is put down to the Lord opening, opening
her heart, making her receptive to the word. You know we can
have especially after a season when there's not been any rain
at all, the ground is very hard, it's very sealed. And if there
was to be a deluge of rain, the ground is not open to receive
that water, it just runs straight off it. And very soon, if then
that rain stopped and the sun came out, the ground would be
dry and it'd just be hard as it ever was. But if it came very,
very gently, very softly, a very drizzly rain that went over a
period of time and it would soften that ground, it would open the
ground and then it would receive the water that was poured upon
it. And it's very marked, we do need
that entrance, that opening, that receptiveness. That is why
later on those letters we referred to in the Revelation He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. And here it is clearly set forth. This is the work of God, to give
a hearing ear. My sheep, they hear my voice,
and they follow me. He that receiveth you, receiveth
me. He that receiveth me, receiveth
him that sent me. And so Paul had here an evidence
and was able to discern that the Lord was with them and what
followed, that fruitfulness, that love to them, that desire
to look after them, constraining them to go into her house and
to sustain them. Then we have the means or the
way that God was going to use to bring to the next one or next
group of people in that prison. And Paul and Silas, they have
opposition from their stamps. Well, you might have thought,
well, that'd be a good thing if you're followed. And one was
proclaiming all the time that these men were the servants of
the Most High God. But we were told that Paul was
grieved that she kept on and on speaking in this way. And so he commanded in the name
of Jesus Christ that their spirit come out of her. It came out
the same hour. And then their masters, her masters
saw that the hope of their gains was gone. Then they laid these
charges against Paul and Silas. In that sense it was true, it
was through their ministry, it was through the miracle wrought
through their hands that she had lost that which she had that
gave them the great gains. but they were then brought before
the magistrates, not tried, not given a fair trial at all, not
even heard as to what nation they were, and then thrown into
jail. And we don't read that the apostles
were at that point making any protest whatsoever. You wonder
how much they could see that this was the Lord directing where
they were to go in this city. And I wonder how often we think
When things come against us and they're not pleasing to the flesh,
they're trials, they're hard things, they're difficult things,
how many times do we think this is the Lord's way of directing
us to this place or that place or to speak this thing or that
thing or to preach in this certain way or to act in this way? those things that come, who is
he that saith, and it cometh to pass when the Lord commandeth
it not. And so Paul already had seen
things in the Lord's hand, shut doors and open doors, should
not this be in the Lord's hand as well? May we be helped to
apply that same principle. Going back over our lives, things
that we say, we've seen that in the Lord's hand, and seen
this in the Lord's hand, and now we see something and say,
how can the Lord be in this? How can this be of the Lord?
Why are these things happening? Why has this situation arose? And yet we are to apply the same
thing. You have to think of dear Jacob,
who said, all these things are against me. And yet we know from
a scripture account that they weren't. And here, Paul might
have said, well, we came here to preach the gospel. We didn't
come here to be shut up in prison, to end up, to finish our days
there, and to not have any work there at all. But they're in
the prison. We're not told what blessings,
what helps they'd had. You know, they must have been
in much pain. They'd been whipped. Their feet
had been made fast in the stops, and yet there at midnight we
find them praying, and they're singing praises unto God. For those of us who've had heavy
hearts and trials and perplexing things, how hard it is to pray
sometimes, how hard it is to sing. And yet they could, and
they did. how much of an anticipation of
what the Lord was going to do and of their persuasion that
the Lord was with them. Regarding Joseph in the prison,
the Lord was with him in prison. And here he certainly was with
Paul here. And then we have the great earthquake
that came in that prison. The foundations of the prison
were shaken, immediately all the doors were opened, everyone's
bands were loosed. Now I want to turn to the jailer,
the keeper. Now he would have been a hardened,
hardened Roman soldier, one that had brought to be in that position
and given this important task of making sure his prisoners
were held fast. We read in verse 23 that they
cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely,
who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison,
made their feet fast in the stonks, a hard man going about his work,
and without any pity, you might say, to Paul and to Silas. And then, though he'd been charged
in that way, he falls asleep. Did the singing, did the praying
awake him? We're not told so at all. No
scriptures say the prisoners heard them. And when the earthquake
came, it was that which awoke the keeper. He would have known,
as a Roman soldier, to be found sleeping at his post, or found
where the prisoners escaped. Those that were looking after
Peter, as recorded a few chapters before, those keepers, they were
slain. Very often it was a practice.
of not only just killing them, but it's a very painful death
as well, beaten to death, generally by the soldiers that had been
betrayed by one that was sleeping on his post. It was no wonder the keeper,
he was more prepared to kill himself rather than let the Romans
do it. Really, he was staring death
in the face literally at his own hand or at the Roma's hand
and it's at that point then that Paul cries out and they're calling
for a light. It gives the picture of this
prison being all in darkness and the miracle, you know normally
with an earthquake it wouldn't release all the doors, it wouldn't
release all of the shackles. Yes, I've been in New Zealand
and when there's been a very heavy tremor and all of the drawers
in the chest of cabinets have all shaken out onto the floor.
But what has been done here, with all of those shackles loose,
that is a miracle. A miracle not just being able
to ascribe it to something of a natural happening, But here
is the keeper personally feeling to be in trouble, in danger of
his life, sleeping at his post. And when he finds that the prisoners
are there and he's charged, do thyself no harm, then he calls
for a light. He comes, he sees them there,
falls down before them, brought them out. and said, sirs, what
must I do to be saved? The Lord was pleased to bring
to that man a personal trial. You might say in the course of
his employment. Those of us who have had secular
employments, whatever it is, just coming and going day by
day, no doubt he'd had charges to keep many a prisoner. This was his job. This is what
he was doing. And then comes one day, in this
great trial, in that job and in that position, and the ones
that are before him, no doubt he knew. He knew why they were
thrown into prison. He knew that they were charged
with teaching customs which are not lawful for us to receive,
neither to observe, being Romans. And so here is Paul and Silas
brought there many things that have happened to bring them there.
And here is this effect upon the keeper of the prison. I want to just put another side
to this. What is later on said about the
magistrates. When there was the message Let
those men go. And Paul, he refused to do this. He wanted it acknowledged that
they were wrongly shut up, wrongly treated. They were not given
a fair trial. They were Romans. So you might
say the magistrates are in the same position as the keeper.
The keeper hadn't done his job well. The people could have easily
escaped, the prisoners. But the magistrates as well. We read in verse 38, the sergeants
told these words unto the magistrates. They feared when they heard they
were Romans. They came and besought them and
brought them out and desired them to depart out of the city. What a different reaction. Why
didn't it work for them, like the keeper? Why didn't they want
to know what they must do to be saved? Why did not they have
a concern for their souls? A concern expressed in words
like that. The sovereignty of God. What
about the prisoners? The prisoners had heard them
praying. and singing that's recorded here. So they would have heard words.
They would have heard those things that set forth the Lord and glorified
the Lord. But we don't hear of anything
of concern or anything said from them. And yet the jailer, yes,
with them. The sovereignty of the Lord.
You know, often the Lord does use means, and he uses things
coming into our lives, but it's not those things on itself. The Lord uses afflictions very
often, and yet we can have one that has an affliction, a sickness,
and it hardens them, and they say, this is the Lord, and this
is how he deals with me, then I'm not going to believe, and
I'm not going to go in the ways of the Lord, And another one,
when they have the same affliction, it bows them down, it humbles
them. We think of the 10 lepers that
the Lord healed. He said to them all to go and
show themselves to the priest, but one of them, a Samaritan,
when he saw that he was healed, turned and gave glory to God. But the Lord said, where are
the nine? Were there not 10? Why did it
work for that boy in one and not another? The Lord used it
that way. The means are used, but the sovereignty
of God and the miracle of the blessing, the reality of the
blessing, must be seen as coming from God. Those of us who know
something of these things that we've been in, we are not to
be tempted and think, well, it would have happened anyway. If
other people had experienced what I experienced, they would
have believed. They would have been humbled.
They would have asked the same question. No, they wouldn't. Not except by the grace of God. And very often as well, those
things that are done, you know, Jai will never forget this occasion,
will he? Years later, someone will say,
were you really converted? Did you really believe? Can you
really remember that time? Some of us reminded tonight of
a time, and I can't remember it, but he would have always
remembered that. And he's linked to his blessing,
linked to the Lord working in his soul. The Apostle Paul, were
you really converted? Is he ever going to forget that
Damascus road? No, he's not. And those that
knew Him, the difference between before and after, they would
testify. But was it just what happened
on the Damascus road? Well, it was a miracle, but it's
the Lord's doing, and it's the Lord's work. And so maybe really
remember that. If we are to have the comfort
of knowing, He which hath begun a good work in us will perform
it unto the day of Jesus Christ, to know that it really was the
Lord's work that began, and this was the Lord's work that began
with this keeper and this jailer, and it is seen on the effect
on him, what the Lord chose to use, contrasted with the prisoners,
contrasted with the magistrates, and here is the sovereignty with
the keeper. And this is very important, especially
for the Lord's servants, especially for those that maybe you might
say receive those who make profession of faith. It's a great big difference
if you were to get someone just to walk off the street this evening
and come into the house of God, and then they just profess that
they believed, and you've never seen them before, you don't know
anything, that has gone on before with them in their lives, you'd
had no leading to them, you might be a bit cautious. You wonder,
is this arising from a real concern? Is the Lord really in it? But
when you get something like this, then there's a lot of lead up
to it. Often with our churches as well. When you hear one come forward
to make a profession of faith, very often they might be very
fearful and very troubled about venturing. But very often the
case is, it's not a surprise to the church, and quite often
not a surprise to the congregation either, because they have seen
the signs, they've seen the concern, they've seen the change of walk,
the conduct, they've seen those things. I remember years ago,
dear sister in faith in Australia, my father baptised her, baptised
her when she was 75 years of age. No, no, it would have been
younger than that. It was 1975. And when she came before the
church, my father said her mind just went blank. She said, I
didn't know what to say at all. She couldn't give her testimony
at all, and she just blurted out, she said, I just know that
I'm a sinner. But you know, she really didn't
have to say anything, because everyone had seen her. They'd
seen her blessed, they'd seen her favoured, they'd seen her
walk. And the fact that the Lord shut her mouth, she couldn't
speak before the church, in one sense it hardly mattered. She
was able to make profession, You know, I've seen, I've heard
many, many things from her, and I took her funeral favour to
do that in the end. But it is what surrounds those
things that make such a seal to the reality. And this is the
preparation here, and this is why I draw your attention to
this first, that then brings this question What must I do
to be saved? So I want to look then at the
question itself. Now it could arise from the desire
that there's a wanting to do something for one's salvation. I don't believe that was the
case here. But we must remember that we
are all, we are born under the law and under the covenant of
works. And the Lord had many that came
to him with this very desire, what shall I do to inherit eternal
life? They wanted to fulfill the law
themselves. They wanted by their own obedience
to be able to have eternal life. And there can be those that would
ask this question with that mind in view. What duties can I do? What pilgrimages can I do? What
things so that I may attain it? You've only got to read Romans
10. And Paul, he so desires for his
countrymen to be saved. And he said they have a zeal
for God, but not according to knowledge. They're going about
to establish their own righteousness and not submit to themselves
unto the righteousness of God. And so It is possible, when there
is that inquiry, that there is a leaning to one's own works
and thinking of obtaining salvation that way. I don't believe that
that is the case here. One thing, the Keeper, he would
have been very convinced that his own works, especially as
what he knew of with even his job, his earthly calling, he
had failed miserably, so much so that he's ready to take his
own life. And one good preparation that
the Lord will make when he brings those to seek for salvation in
Christ alone is that he will show them that all their own
righteousnesses are as filthy rags. If we cannot even serve
man, rightly, how can we serve God? How can we be acceptable
to God if we cannot even to our secular bosses and those over
us? But I believe the question here,
and this would be a question that many that are brought into
contact with the people of God or with the word of God, they
really want to know What is the next step? A real desire to be
saved. That's what he had. A real desire
to be saved. A real felt need to be saved. But how? What was his next step? What was the advice? Which way
was he to go? How could he act? What was he
to go on from here? And that is such a valid question. A question that any with a concern
for their souls could ask us again, even coming off the street,
what advice would we give? Which way would we point them?
How would we begin to direct them in the right steps and right
way? And it's a good thing to be able
to have a clear answer, a biblical answer, the answer that is given
here. But maybe just think of this
question that is asked, what must I do to be saved? From this point on, up to this
point, I've been unconcerned, no desire, no felt need of salvation
whatsoever, and now from this point on, which way do I go? Which way do I go to be saved? A real sense, this must be a
change of life. This must be a change of course. My life must be different from
this point, but how? And in what way? And how am I
to act? And what am I to walk at this
point? And you know you don't find Paul
saying, well, sorry, there's nothing you can do. It's the
work of God to save. Sorry we can't help you. They
were very clear in what was needed. And so if there is with us, and
I hope there is, and those of us who know the Lord, if those
were to ask us with this same question to be able to give,
a clear answer, a direction, a guidance, a teacher, a direction
as to what way to go. So what is the answer then that
was given in our third point? His question is, what must I
do to be saved? You know, Paul and Silas, Paul,
he comes straight to what is absolutely vital. Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house. Thy house is to believe, thou
art to believe. That is how you'll be saved. And you know we must not depart
from that. We mentioned Romans 10, because
Paul puts the opposite to those that were trying to obtain God's
salvation and righteousness by works of their own. And he says,
it's not who shall descend into the deep, not what depths of
experience we have, nor to bring Christ from above what heights
of experience we have. But what saith it, the word is
neither even in thy mouth and in thy heart, That is the word
of faith which we preach. That if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, shalt believe in thine heart that God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Paul is
very, very clear on this matter as to how a man is saved. And
it is by believing, and by believing the Gospel, when he writes to
the Corinthians, He makes it very clear that, and we spoke
of this recently, that in the wisdom of God, he has made it
that man by wisdom cannot find out God, but it hath pleased
God through the foolishness of preaching to save them that belief. Again, it is saving them that
belief. It is through believing. The
disciples, they ask the Lord in John 6, what shall we do that
we might work the works of God This is the work of God, that
ye believe in him whom God has sent. It is the work of God.
But the answer that Paul has given is absolutely vital. That he should believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. He says, with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness, with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall I call on him
in whom they have not believed? How shall I believe in him of
whom they have not heard? Remember, this man hasn't heard.
He might have heard a little bit, but he was asleep when they
were praying and singing. How shall I believe in him of
whom they have not heard? How shall I hear without a preacher?
You've been sent to this prison, you've been sent to this place,
you've been sent here to preach, which is the means, how shall
I preach except they be sent as it is written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and glad
tidings of good things. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing
by the word of God. Paul's answer, he goes, right
to the aim. the end in view, what is vital,
what is needed. Perhaps if we were to ask the
same question today, that we might give the same answer, I
hope we would, that we point that soul, point them to the
Word of God, to read the Word of God, to pray over that Word
of God, to regularly attend the means of grace, to sit under
the preached Word, and pray the Lord would bless that word to
them so that they believe, and so that they receive that word,
or like Lydia, that they have their heart open to receive that
word, and so be brought to believe, and that what is directed to
one that is inquiring is to the means of grace and to the way
that a soul is saved by the preaching of the word and God's blessing
on the preaching of the word. Now we see how the apostle follows
up what he said as a summary. He doesn't just leave it. Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and all thy
house. In verse 32 we read, and they
spake unto him the word of the Lord and to all that were in
his house. He didn't have to direct them
to go to the house of God, to a sound cause of truth and to
hear the gospel preached. The Lord had brought him there.
He made that the Bethel, that was the house of God. He brought
there the same as the eunuch was in his chariot, the jailer
was in his prison, And he begins to preach. So he doesn't need
to say to that jailer, you need to hear the word of God preached.
He just preaches the word to them. And not only to him, but
to all that is in his house. They spake unto him the word
of the Lord and to all that were in his house. and what a difference
was wrought. Immediately, we find a real practical
love, a love to these men that once he had just roughly put
in the stocks and been so cruel to, now he's coming the same
hour of the night, washing their stripes, and was baptized he
and his straight way. He sets meat before them, He's
now rejoicing, believing in God with all his house. Under that
preached Word, what a difference it made to that man. One moment
he was going to take his life, now he has heard the Gospel preached,
the Word preached, and he believes and he rejoices. He is in exactly
what the Apostle said. You know that's not man's doing,
that's God's doing that has made that believer and gave him that
crown and caused him to so rejoice and have such joy. With Lydia
brought to faith in such a different way, we still see the same things,
the same practical love, the practical help, the practical
evidence. Again, it's Like we said, of
the opened heart to receive the word. We have this, in John's
epistles, we know that we have passed from death unto life because
we love the brethren. What, just in a superficial way,
just saying we love them? No, practical love. You know,
these believers at Philippi, immediately you see the fruits,
the ministry, the love, the effect that it had. The Thessalonians,
when they believed, they received the word, not in word only, but
in demonstration of the spirit and of power, they became followers
of us and of the Lord. Immediately there was that union
that was with them, and that is the seal of believing. It's not just in word only, but
really in a very practical, and real way is the charity, the
greatest love, a practical love that is set forth in the Epistle
to the Corinthians. What a blessing to be a believer
and to have joy and peace in believing. And to you which believe
he is precious. Christ would have been set before
them his sufferings, his death, his substitutionary offering
at Calvary. They would have sat before this
jailer, this hard jailer, what those Romans saw when they crucified
the Lord. I, if I be lifted up above the
earth, will draw all men unto me. Our Lord declared that, and
here is one. that is drawn, drawn to this
ministry, drawn to the preaching of the cross, which to the Jews
is but foolishness, to the Greeks as well it is something that
is to be derided, but those that believe it is the power of God. Our Lord coming as that substitutionary
offering to lay down his life in the place of his people, enduring
the wrath of God for them. This jailer was spared his life,
but our Lord laid down his, that he might be given life, literally,
temporal life and eternal life. And it is because of what the
Lord has done, this jailer, his sins, were laid on the Lord in
the Garden of Gethsemane, and he paid for them on Calvary's
tree. He suffered in his place. As
we've said many times here, all those that sit round the Lord's
table, they point to where every single member of the Church of
God, from Abel's day to the last one, their sins were put away
at the same time, the same place, by the same precious Jesus upon
Calvary's tree. One sacrifice for sins forever. And Paul preached this, set this
before this jailer. And this is what the jailer believed.
He believed in God's provision. He believed that his sins were
put away and pardoned. He believed that he'd been given
life through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. He believed
that the wrath of God was satisfied in that, and that he was justified
and free from all guilt and from all condemnation in believing. As the apostle says before him,
really the commission that he had right from the start, go
into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved, and he that believeth
not shall be damned. And this dear man believed, and
he was baptised, and all those that heard in his household,
how many we do not know. But all of them rejoiced, all
of them believed in God with all his house. What an answer
and what a fruit. and what a blessing to see that.
May we know the Spirit's witness that the Lord has done the same
for us, that we view in the Lord Jesus Christ all that our poor
soul needs. It is Christ that died, yea,
rather risen again, that sitteth at the right hand of the throne
of God on high, not by the deeds of righteousness which we have
done, But by His work, His sacrifice, His blood, without the shedding
of blood there is no remission. But here is the shed blood, not
of the Keeper, but of Christ. That precious blood of the Lamb
of God. What does baptism set forth?
Buried with Him by baptism into death and risen again in newness
of life. How true it was in this case,
how beautifully it set forth the experience of this jailer.
And may we always see in the Lord's choice of the ordinances
of His house, a beautiful choice that mirrors the work that He
does in poor sinners' hearts, in bringing them from death unto
life, from darkness unto light. So we have the question, What
must I do to be saved? And in the answer though given
in summary first, it was followed after with the preaching and
with his full conversion and full blessing. It's like the
Lord did with the woman at the well of Samaria. He made her
want and desire that living water, give me this water, go and call
thy husband. The Lord didn't waste any time.
He immediately began with her, began dealing with her. He doesn't
explain what she needs doing, but He deals with her. And then
at last reveals Himself so clearly to her that she's able to say,
come see a man that told me all things that ever I did is not
this the Christ. The Lord knows how to deal with
His people and His servants here, know how to give the right answer.
and then to immediately follow it up and to preach the Word. Well, may the Lord bless the
preaching of the Word this evening. Amen.