May it please Almighty God to bless us together this morning as we meditate in His Holy Word. Let's turn to the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 16, and we'll read verse 30 and 31. the 16th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, and reading verse 30 and 31.

And brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house.

It's interesting to have such a wonderful account recorded in detail as we have in this 16th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. And it's amazing to think that we see so clearly here the work of the Holy Spirit, the leading of the Holy Spirit, and the effect of the work of the Holy Spirit.

We see right from the very beginning of this chapter how Paul and Silas decided to go and they went through the cities and then they came to... and the church was established. Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia.

You see clearly they desired to be directed by the Holy Spirit and clearly the Holy Spirit did direct them and forbade them to preach the word in Asia. We always need to take note of such directions. We perhaps always think the Lord works in one way. Well in this case they were forbidden to go into Asia.

And then we're told and when they would come to Mycenae they assailed or decided to go into Bithynia. But the spirit suffered them not. So another path was closed up. You see God is a great God and it's very wonderful to be submissive in our little lives to the leadings and directions of Almighty God

God had a different plan God had a wonderful plan and we're told then and there was a vision appeared to Paul at night and there stood a man in Macedonia and prayed him saying come over into Macedonia and help us and it's interesting again there was no argument about whether it was the right thing to do or whether they should go somewhere else, we're told here.

And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us to preach the Gospel unto them. It's a wonderful blessing, isn't it? To observe and see God leading. And God directing.

And so here was Macedonia. I hadn't been there before. And they were told to go there. Didn't know what it was going to be like. But you see the Holy Spirit moved them. They didn't argue. And immediately they went. And it's good, isn't it? observe the willingness that God gives to people to do his will because they are surely gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

So we're told them they loosed from Troas and came with a straight course to Samothracio and the next day to Annapolis and from thence to Philippi which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony, and we were in that city abiding certain days.

And again, we might think, well surely the Lord was going to work immediately and direct them, well it wasn't so. They had to abide their certain days. And then on the Sabbath, we might think they went casually, out of the city by the riverside where prayer was usually made and they sat down and spake unto the women which resorted dither again we might be surprised at that here were these two men preaching the gospel unto the women

But the Lord's purposes were being worked out. And we're told then there was a certain woman, there were other women there, but there was a certain woman named Lydia. She was a trader, it seems she was a probably fairly wealthy lady, Sarah Purple, which worshipped God and they heard us. whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And we see there the wonderful work again of the Holy Spirit.

So Paul and Silas had been directed not to go in various places, and then had been brought down to this place of Philippi, and then had gone by the riverside on the Lord's day, and there they sat down and talked to women, and clearly spoke to them the great and wonderful truths of the Gospel. And the effect was that this woman Lydia, her heart was opened to receive the Word of God.

Now, that was true in her case. The fact is that every true believer has their heart opened to receive the Word of God. And what a blessing for us today if in our lives we can remember perhaps an occasion or perhaps not remember and perhaps desire there might be an occasion when our heart is opened to receive the truths of the Gospel. What a wonderful blessing that is.

And so we're told here, whose heart the Lord opened. And we're told then, when she was baptized, and her household, again it's very interesting. We seem to have moved a long way away from this kind of position in the day and age in which we live. Generally speaking, In the New Testament, we have a statement, and they or she or he believed and were baptized. There wasn't any waiting for some great, wonderful direction by the Holy Spirit. The Word of God tells us the way to do and what to do.

And so, we see here was this woman her heart was opened and she attended the things which were spoken and she was baptized and her household now it would seem clear from that and the following verses that obviously her household listened to the things that the Apostles spoke and also had their hearts opened to follow the blessed example of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And then we find there was A difficulty, we find that there was a woman who made her living by witchcraft or spiritual divination and gained her masters, a lot of money through that. But Paul came and they came and they showed the way of salvation. to this woman. And then we're told, and this she did many days, but Paul being grieved, turned and said to the Spirit, I command thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. And that, again, was a a wonderful deliverance.

And of course her masters were pretty unhappy because the means of their making money had disappeared because this woman was a changed person. And therefore the result was that the masters brought Paul and Silas into the magistrates and the result was that they were eventually beaten and put in prison.

So we see how God worked, most amazingly really, and in not the way that you and I would expect and want, we would think things would go smoothly, but no, the Lord had His plan. And we should always remember that in our lives, God has His plan. And His plan is best. Because His plan always brings honour and glory to his name. And those who do believe are very thankful it is so, and pleased it is so.

So here's Paul and Silas now, and they're finding they have many stripes laid upon them for obeying the word of God. It's quite hard, isn't it, for us to understand. We think if we're obeying God's Word, it's going to be a smooth path. God's going to go with us. Well, God was still with Paul and Silas, but they had to endure this considerable opposition. Beaten, put in prison, put in the stocks. Not easy, was it? And yet we see the wonderful grace of God and it's amazing isn't it? We read that, who having received such a charge, that's the Jada, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks.

Now we're told at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God and the prisoners heard them. Well we're not told precisely what they prayed but we know that they sang praises unto God and that's amazing isn't it? And we should realize we have these examples therefore that when things don't go smoothly don't go in accordance with our plans We shouldn't moan about it and complain about it. We should realize that God is in it. And therefore here was Paul and Silas. They sang praises unto God. And it wasn't silent. And the benefit was we're told the prisoners heard them. Wasn't that wonderful? We're not told of course what the effect was but they heard them.

and you and I today are in this world so that those that we meet with and speak to and that may indeed hear and testify of those things which we're able to tell them of the greatness of God and the glorious plan of salvation

and then God was still with them God was still working and we're then told and suddenly There was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were opened and every man's bands or chains were loosed.

And then we're told, and the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep. Now we've got to realize here was the jailer, the jailer in this prison. Here he was, and no doubt being one of those perhaps that beat the prisoners. But in any event, he put them into the stocks, and there he was in prison. And you'd think he'd be worried about what he'd done. Not at all. He went to sleep. Didn't seem to have any conscience about what he'd done. He went to sleep.

But God knew where he was. God knew. where the Jailer was and he knew what he would do. So the time came when the Jailer was awakened out of his sleep and a great blessing there was. And seeing the prison doors opened, he drew out his sword and would have killed himself supposing that the prisoners had been fled.

For Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here. And he called for light, and sprang in, and came trembling, trembling, trembling perhaps under the blessed influence of the work of the Holy Spirit, trembling. It's good, isn't it, you know, when you and I are brought to that condition where we tremble before God because we know we've offended God. We know that we've disobeyed God. We know that we've sinned against God and therefore we've trembled.

Well, here was this jailer, trembling. And the result was that he fell down before Paul and Silas and brought them out of the prison and asked this great and important question. Sirs, what must I do to be saved? We see the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the jailer.

My friends, it's the same with every true believer. There was a great change in the jailer's life. There he was, content, happy to go to sleep. The Lord woke him up through this earthquake. And then, no doubt, he remembered those words that perhaps he'd heard them singing, perhaps he'd heard them preaching, whatever it was, it obviously entered into the jailer's heart in the same way that it entered into Lydia's heart. And it had the same effect, and the same effect was to bring light, spiritual light, into the heart of this Jailer. Now, we perhaps read this and we think it's very wonderful, and so it is. But every one of us needs to have the same blessed and wonderful work of the Holy Spirit, so that we come with similar words to what the Jaina did when he came and said, what must I do to be saved?

And we may ask the question, well, why did he ask that? Why did he ask to be saved? Saved from what? Well, we must believe that the apostle Paul and Silas had preached and told him and told the prisoners that there was a God in heaven, a righteous and holy God, and all of those prisoners would one day have to die. And after that, their death, they would either spend eternity in heaven or eternity in hell. And therefore we can understand this jailer wanted to be saved from falling into that terrible pit of hell. And therefore he cries out and says, what must I do to be saved?

And of course the glorious gospel comes before us. and the Apostle Paul was able to declare so wonderfully to him believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house we just need to be clear on this that means that his house would have had to have believed as well what a wonderful blessing it is and so we see how God's glorious plan is being worked out Paul and Silas weren't allowed to go where they intended on two occasions and then they were directed to go to Macedonia and they went there and eventually came to Philippi and there in Philippi they met opposition because they preached the gospel and there they were put in prison but the appointed time the time of grace had come for this jailer and all his house. And so he was able to ask that important question, what must I do to be saved?

What is good in our lives? If we've also come to that position, when we, as it were, stood guilty before a holy God, fearful, what might come upon us fearful of ending up in eternity in hell that most terrible terrible place I mentioned sometimes I'm sure you are familiar I mentioned again hell is a most terrible place we're given just a little few clues as to what it's like and what it's like is this It's a bottomless pit. Doesn't mean that we suddenly find ourselves on dry land or in a pleasant country. It's a bottomless pit. And it's pitch black. That's what hell is like. And it doesn't suddenly get light. We don't suddenly find there's daytime and the sun rises. It's pitch black, and that's where you and I, but for the grace of God, will spend eternity. In a place, there's no bottom. We can imagine in a totally dark situation, falling and falling and falling, forever and ever and ever. You see, space is something that you and I can't understand. and yet to realise that there will be billions of people in that terrible condition. No release. No freedom.

And yet you see, you and I today are still on the earth. We're not in hell. What a mercy, therefore, if God gives you and me that awakening, like the Jailer, like Lydia, our hearts opened to receive the Word of God and to plead for mercy and to cry out, what must I do to be saved? And then to be directed to that way of salvation, to the glorious way set before us in the word of God. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.

My friends today, are we amongst those who have believed or are we amongst those who have not believed? You see many people today, false professors, People who pretend that they're seeking God, and not really. They just carry out some formal things in religion. The great thing is to be blessed by faith, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and to recognise that they shall be saved.

my friends you and I must be saved we must be saved otherwise that terrible eternity in hell will be our lot we've got the Word of God that tells us these things instructs us in these things as a great warning to us and so often we come and we go we come and we listen to the servants, we read the Bible, we shut the Bible we go off and we carry on in all the vain things in this world and yet you see you and I have to face that we will die we will have eternity before us just like this jailer was and yet we see the wonderful grace of God coming unto him

my friends what glory it is to think of that grace of God because if we do believe if God gives us grace to believe what's the result? the result is that we won't be in hell we shall be in heaven we shall be in glory that place which is so wonderful where it is eternal happiness peace and to be with the Savior to be able to praise him for what he's done in saving our soul because the debt that you and I earned because of our sin the Apostle tells us that fact when he says The wages of sin is death, eternal death. That's the payment that you and I will receive for our sin. We need Almighty God to show us that the Lord Jesus Christ has paid that price to free us from that condemnation of the law of God which says, the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

We're blessed today, my friends, to have this account, which directs us so clearly to the need of our salvation. What a wonderful thing it is, and the effect that it had, this changed this Jaina, changed him completely. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. Well, he'd gone to sleep that night without a care for his soul. The Lord had woken him. He'd heard the glorious words of the gospel. He'd gone into his heart, and he'd been blessed with that spiritual life. And the result was, he then, the same hour of the night, washed the stripes, of Paul and Silas, and was baptized he in all his straight way. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

What a time it is, a time of rejoicing, when you and I have the evidence that God has given us that grace to believe that's what he gave to the to the jailer here because he rejoiced believing in God with all his house well my friends again how important it is to be blessed with that faith to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and to recollect as we have so clearly set before us what the Lord Jesus Christ did he came he lived on this earth for those 33 years and what did he do? he did the will of his father he did the will of his father he never complained he had to endure So much punishment, so much hardship, and then to be crucified in our place. He bore the punishment instead. Isn't it wonderful? That is the truth of the gospel, that this great God, nonetheless, And God himself, God himself, endured the curse for us. He willingly suffered that you and I might be set free. And we read in the Gospel of John, and if the Son shall set you free, you will be free indeed. My friends, there's only freedom in Christ. Only freedom to realise that our blessed saviour died and in dying he shed his blood to take away, to wash away our sin forever. We're able to then come and say I'm clean, Just God, I'm clean. It's a wonderful mercy. It's a wonderful blessing. And so we have here this glorious example of God's love and God's mercy to an unworthy man.

My friends, you and I are no different. We are utterly unworthy of any mercy. of any favour. But what a blessing it is if God brings us to this same position that he brought this Jada to. So he had to come. He fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

And what a blessing it is when you and I fall down trembling before a holy God, realizing that God is just. If we are condemned to eternal hell and yet to have that glorious evidence as Paul said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.

So what a mercy it is for you and me today if we receive this faith which it is God-given faith to believe believe the great and glorious plan of salvation and to have that good hope that through his grace our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life because if they are they will never be erased they're there from eternity past Before the world was created, our names were put into that Lamb's Book of Life, and there they remain.

Oh, how humbling it is when the Holy Spirit shows to us what we are by nature. We can't throw any stones at the jailer. We're no better left to ourselves. but what a mercy if we received that grace that free unmerited favor free unmerited favor of Almighty God by grace you are saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God oh what a glorious truth to receive that gift, that gift of eternal life. We receive it because the Lord Jesus Christ has paid that price to take away all of our sin. We're able to believe, as the Apostle says, redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. Neither way, it's through the glorious shedding of Christ's blood upon that cross at Calvary that takes away sin.

Oh, my friends, may you and I rejoice in it and bless God for it. And we see the wonderful effect it had. This keeper, he was a changed man. And my friends, the grace of God changes us. from perhaps just a mere formal religion, just satisfied with an outward performance of religion, just perhaps reading the Bible just out of custom, perhaps coming to chapel just out of custom. But what a great blessing it is when God shows to us that we are indeed guilty. You and I need salvation. That means the saving of our soul. We need to be brought to that glorious place to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Well, my friends, simple words, aren't they? But we need grace. We need the power of God. We need a changed heart, just like Lydia. It's a new heart. God gives us that. We are a different person. What are we? We're a new creature. A new creature. One day again. If in our lives we can see that, we can see how God brought about A change. The jailer went to bed. Woke up. The Lord changed him. The Lord applied his word. His word into his heart. Under the blessed work of the Holy Spirit.

so my friends today we are in the day of grace what a mercy that is but you know once we've passed out of this life once we've died the day of grace is past never to return so while you and i are still in this day of grace may we indeed have that desire that the Jailer had when he came and said, what must I do to be saved? You see, it was a personal religion. And it is. It's between your soul and my soul and God. What must I do to be saved? And the answer was very clear and very simple and yet very powerful. Believe. on the Lord Jesus Christ and the result, and thou shalt be saved.

Oh, my friends, how important it is today. We can go, we can read this chapter again. It's a glorious chapter. It shows the grace of God. It shows the wonderful mercy that how Paul and Silas were stopped going to various places because they had to come. to Philippi. They had to be imprisoned. They had to preach and sing praises to God at midnight. And God worked in the heart of the Jada and subsequently all his house. What a mercy. It's wonderful, isn't it? To read about God's sovereign grace.

the power of God and may you and I each be able to come to that position where by the grace of God we have the evidence that we have believed by his favour and therefore eternal life is ours not because of what we've done but because of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done in redeeming our soul. So may we then meditate on these things and be really concerned to trace out our life and to be able to find in our hearts, remember Lydia's heart was open, the Jonah's heart was open, every believer's heart is open to receive the truth of God's word.

Well may you and I be found amongst those who receive the truth of God's word and are blessed with this great and wonderful gift of eternal life. And be thankful that we have a statement like this. And so he said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Amen.