So open your Bibles, if you would,
to Acts chapter 16. We'll continue our study in this
wonderful book. And Lord willing, we'll finish
this chapter today. The name of the message comes
from the very latter part of verse 40. I named the message
Comforting the Brethren, where we see Paul and Silas end up
in Lydia's house. And look at the very end, they
comfort them and departed. And how would they comfort them?
by preaching Christ to them, by proclaiming the Lord Jesus
Christ to them, telling them of the affairs of how they were
cast into prison, and then the Lord saved the Philippian jailer,
and not only him, but his household. My, they'd be rejoicing, wouldn't
they? Oh my. And you know, this is the beginning
of the Philippian church, too. Lydia and now the jailer. Lydia's
family and now the jailer's family. Because her family and servants
would hear Paul inside us talking with her about the gospel. And
we don't, who knows what the Lord did, if he saved more within
her family. We don't know, but we know that
the whole, the Philippian jailer and his family were saved, those
who were old enough to believe. There's no infant baptism in
that stuff. People take that and say, well,
look at that. His household, it must mean the children too,
the little kiddos. No, it doesn't mean that because
it says they heard. They heard the things. They understood
the things that were spoken. That's why we believe in believer's
baptism, beloved. Right? Oh my. So let's stand
up together and read verses 34 to 40. 34 to 40 of Acts chapter 16. We'll
read this together. And this will be our text this
morning. Let's stand up. You don't even
have to stand up if you want. Let's stand up. That's what we
do now. Okay, starting verse 34. And when he had brought them
into his house, this is a Philippian jailer, he set meat before them
and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. And when
it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying, Let these
men go. And the keeper of the prison
told this, saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let
you go. Now therefore depart, and go
in peace. But Paul said unto them, They
have beaten us openly, uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us
into prison. Now do they trust us out privately? Nay, verily, but let them come
themselves and fetch us out.' And the sergeants told the words
unto the magistrates, and they feared when they heard that they
were Romans. And they came and besought them,
and bought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city.
And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of
Lydia, And when they had seen the brethren, they comforted
them and departed. Now think upon this. We see in
the text that these men feared the Romans, right? They feared
the Romans. They didn't fear God, did they? No, in our natural state, we
don't fear God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. And the
fear that we have for the Lord is a reverent fear, beloved,
knowing who He is. His wrath against us is being
appeased by Christ, but He's still God, isn't He? And we have
a reverent fear of Him. Not a slavish fear, but one of
awe. God is my Savior. He rules over
everything. Now keep that in mind as we look
at this portion, because they did not fear God, but they feared
the Romans. But what did the Lord, we're
gonna look later on what the Lord said. He said, don't fear
those who can destroy your body, but fear him who can destroy
both body and soul in hell. Speaking of God. And you ever
think of this? In our natural state, before
the Lord saved us, we didn't fear God. Now, we feared death,
didn't we? We feared other things, calamities
and all these things, but we didn't fear God. Isn't it amazing
now? We have a reverent awe in fear
of God. Who made us to differ? And what
do we have that we didn't receive? God wrought that in us, beloved. Isn't that amazing? We were once
rebels just like these magistrates. We're no different in our natural
state. This is how men and women come
into this world, dead in trespasses and sins, with no fear of God.
But the fear of the Lord, again, is the beginning of knowledge.
Remember, we saw our sin and went, oh, Lord, I'm condemned
by my sin. And God, the Father, like David,
talking to Mephibosheth, says to his people, fear not. And we saw Christ, didn't we?
Oh, we look to the Redeemer by God-given faith. As Scripture
says, look and live. And so we're just sinners saved
by grace, aren't we? Who've looked to Christ by the
grace and mercy of God. Look to Him as the perfect sacrifice. The shedding of His blood was
for me. He redeemed me, every believer says. Every born-again
believer says, He redeemed me from all my sins. He did it all. My, oh, my. And we're quick to
give them all the glory, aren't we? Now, our last study, we saw
the providential hand of the Lord Jesus Christ in allowing
Paul and Silas to be publicly shamed, whipped, scorched, beaten. God allowed that, didn't he?
He allowed that to happen. But there's a purpose in it all,
isn't there? Now, Paul and Silas, when they're getting whipped,
they're not thinking, well, this is for the, you know, they're
not, they're probably wondering, we were just preaching the gospel. Now, they expected it, didn't
they? They expected to be persecuted, but it was never a happy experience. No. So they were scourged for preaching
the gospel. That's what they were doing, beloved. They were
preaching the glorious gospel of salvation through Christ alone.
And they were being persecuted for it, and then they were cast
into prison, right? And now remember, too, they're... Look what it says. Look what
Paul says. They have beaten us, verse 37, openly, uncondemned. There was no trial, beloved. There was no trial. They just
took the words of those scoundrels. The magistrates did, because
they were probably well-known, and I imagine they were pretty
profitable people because they had money that they'd made from
that lady with the demon in her. So they were wealthy, probably
had influence within the city. And God allowed them to go through
that, Paul and Silas. They were thrown into prison,
but there's a reason, right? There's a purpose to that. Because that Philippian jailer
had to hear the gospel, didn't he? He's one of the Lord's lost
sheep, not just him, some of his family members too. So he
must hear the gospel. So God moves. giving the suffering
saints grace and strength. You know, we know that God gave
them grace and strength through this time. They didn't do it
on their own. And they're singing in prison and praising God. That's only the grace of God
at work, isn't it? My, oh my. But he allowed them,
again, the honor of suffering for Christ. It really is for
preaching the gospel. And by that, he allowed the other
prisoners to hear them, too. Think of that. So not only did
the Philippian jailer hear them preach the gospel, but all the
other prisoners heard, too. And God didn't let one of them
escape, did he? Remember, there was a big earthquake, and all
the doors opened, and all the bonds set free, and the Lord
restrained them all, didn't he? That shows us his sovereign power,
doesn't it? And you know what else shows
us his sovereign power? The fact that Paul and Silas are right
there right there among that lost sheep. God is gonna send him a preacher,
isn't he? Didn't just send him one, did he? Sent him two. And
we know they both said the same thing when he said, what must
I do to be saved? They both said, believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Look to Christ. Look to him alone. Oh my. And then our God's great
almighty power is on display, right? There's an earthquake.
When they're in prison, there's an earthquake. The doors open,
the shackles fall. And then, so that's his providential
power on display, right? And then his sovereign power
in salvation is on display when the Holy Spirit regenerates.
That Philippian jailer, you ever think of that? His power over
nature is on display with the earthquake, and then his power
in salvation is on display. It's wonderful, isn't it? Our
God is sovereign, beloved. Salvation's of the Lord. It's
of Him. It's His doing. It's absolutely
wonderful. I'll tell you what. And then,
again, His sovereign power is on display in the fact that He
restrains all those prisoners. And then, again, by the power
of God the Holy Spirit, He brings conviction upon the heart of
the Philippian jailer, moving him to cry out, "'Sirs, what
must I do to be saved?' Again, this is all falling out according
to the purpose and plan of God, according to His sovereign will. God's almighty power is on full
display here for us. And everything, think of this
too, everything is falling out according to his will and purpose.
Think of that for you and I. Brother, we don't know, you know,
you got the hernia, but it's going to work out for your good
and for God's glory. What if that had happened down
the road and you couldn't get to the doctor? But at the day that it's appointed
for us to die, we're gonna be gone, aren't we? It's not your
time. People die from hernias all the
time. It happens, you get to go to the doctor, get it taken
care of, you can have a surgery, all according to the will of
God. It's amazing. I love going to my doctor. I
get to tell him about Christ. I get to tell him, you know,
he's giving me medications and everything. I said, you know,
all these medications are for God's people, and everybody else
gets the residual effects. And he goes, man, I never thought
of that, Wayne. I'm like, yeah, it's true. God is so benevolent, isn't he?
He's so benevolent. He has the rain fall, the just
and the unjust. And they both say to this man
who cries out, what must I do to be saved? He has an earnest
desire for this question to be answered, doesn't he? And they
said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
So God in his almighty power sent Paul and Silas to that jail
where that lost sheep was. They preach the gospel to him,
and by the power of God, he's born again, given faith to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he goes into their house,
Paul and Silas go into their house and preach the gospel.
And his family members, the Lord saves a bunch of them. And they're
baptized. Oh my. And think of this. The Philippian
jailer and his family, they were delivered from the power of darkness.
They woke up, think of this, they woke up that morning idol
worshipers. You ever think of that? It was after midnight,
but the day before, when they woke up, that Philippian jailer
went to work as an idol worshiper. He's going to work, he's worshiping
his idols, his mind is dead in trespasses and sins, and he's
going home, and he's rejoicing, he's born again, he was in the
kingdom of darkness, now he's been translated to the kingdom
of his dear son, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's a miracle of grace, isn't
it, brothers and? That's a miracle of God's grace,
and that's what he does for every one of his people. Isn't that
amazing? And we've seen it, we've had
the privilege of, and this is all recorded for our Lord and
beloved, for us, to see the mighty power of God on display. The
scriptures are recorded for God's people. My, it's wonderful. What comfort we can glean here
that our God's in full control. No matter what circumstance we
find ourselves in, God is in control. Think of the worst situation
we've been in. I can, not hard to think of the
worst situations I've been in. Before I was saved and even after
I was saved. In my mind, the worst situation.
And God is in full control. And he's always taking care of
me. You know that? Is it true for you? One day I'll
be healed from sin, he's gonna take me home. You ever think
of that? When we go home to be with the
Lord, we're healed from the pandemic of sin. That's what it is. It's
a pandemic. Kills 100% of people, doesn't
it? People worried about the next pandemic. There's already
a pandemic in the world. It's called sin. It has 100%
kill rate, doesn't it? Yeah. But there is a cure, isn't
there? The precious blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Oh, my. My oh my, it's wonderful. That's why we just say, look
to Christ and live. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou
shall be saved. Isn't it amazing? People will
go to a doctor. They get a little thing on their
finger, get a cut. Oh, I need stitches, I gotta
go to the doctor. But there's a far greater ailment,
the pandemic of sin, and they want nothing to do with the Great
Physician. Praise God he made us willing in the day of his
power, eh? Praise God he did that. He made us willing. And we fled to Christ. Oh my. He gave us eyes to see. And think
of this. God in his almighty purpose had
sent Paul and Silas to Philippi to preach the gospel to Lydia,
who was one of his lost sheep. But there's more there in that
city, isn't there? Oh my. Oh my. My, oh my, oh my. It's amazing. And then we saw the public testimony
of the new converts submitting to believers baptism. And then we see the Philippian
jailer's obvious concern for his brethren. How do we see that? He cleaned their wounds. He threw him in jail. Around
midnight, right? Or thrown in jail the day before.
They were tossed in jail. In the inner prison. And look
at the humility. He's a new creature in Christ,
beloved. He now loves God's people. And he humbles himself and cleans
their wounds. Not thinking anything of it.
Just, I love these men. They told me the truth. And God saved me. Oh my. My oh my. Let's read verses 35
and 36 of this chapter. Now we see the magistrates of
Philippi, they commanded that Paul and Silas were to now be
released. Now the magistrates are in charge.
They're judges. They're in charge. They're like city leaders. And back then, city leaders had
a lot more power. I think city leaders still have
power. But back then, they had a lot of power. They had a lot
of power. And let's read verses 35 and
36. And when it was day, so the next,
or that day, the magistrate sent the sergeant saying, let those
men go. So we see that they have authority to release the prisoners. Something we see here, too, is
that the Philippian jailer didn't have the authority to release
them. We know he would have. They're his brothers, right?
He would have said, go on, get out of here. But he didn't have
the authority to do that. Only the magistrates could set
them free. So the next day comes. And this message comes from the
sergeants. They go to the Philippian jailer, the keeper of the prison,
and they told this saying to Paul. The magistrates have sent
to let you go. Now, therefore, depart and go
in peace. So they're saying, just get out of here. Go in peace
now. You spent the night in prison. Just go. Don't cause any ruckus.
Just go. But there's something the magistrates
don't know. Now just as being a U.S. citizen
comes with privileges, Annie and I don't have the same privilege,
we were talking about that yesterday, that U.S. citizens have, because
we're Canadians. And just as, but in Canada we
have privileges that Americans don't have. Not that that matters
to us, eh? But, because we live here now.
But so you have certain rights and certain privileges, right?
And you're protected. The same thing was for the Romans. Now
think though, the Romans had an empire that stretched from
Spain all the way to India. Huge empire. And no matter where
you were as a Roman citizen, whether you were in Spain, or
whether you were in Philippi, or whether you were in Jerusalem,
you had all those rights. even if you weren't in the home
country, because they considered it their empire. Now these magistrates have no
idea. Notice in our text, they didn't
ask Paul, well, where are you from? Who are you? They didn't
do that. They just beat him, didn't they? But just as being an American
citizen or a citizen of a country has certain privileges, Romans
had certain privileges. One of them being, if they were
ever accused of anything, they would have to go before a judge. Or there would have to be a trial.
They could not be unjustly condemned. And think of this too. Philippi
is a Greek city. It's a colony. They don't have the same rights. Now, these leaders are set up
by the Romans, but they're still Greeks. They don't have Roman citizenship.
Some, there's Romans in that city, we know that, but these
people would be set up locally by the Roman government. And
how do we know that? Well, we know that by their reaction,
when they find out that Paul and Silas are Romans. My oh my. And in scripture we've
been taught that even the wrath of man, God will use that to
glorify himself, won't he? Think of that in light of this.
The wrath of man had Paul and Silas beaten and cast into prison. But God turned that evil into
good, didn't he? And the Lord saved the Philippian
jailer. Oh my. And not just him, but
so the gospel could be preached to the Philippian jailer's family
as well. My, oh my. marvel at the same
power of God working on the hearts of those wicked magistrates to
send word to the keeper of prison to release Paul and Silas. They
could have let him sit there and rot. But according to God's
providence, he had them release him. Right? It all happens according
to God's calendar and its timetable, right? And we know that the heart of
the king is in the Lord's hands and he turns it whatsoever way
he wills, right? That's true of anyone in power.
Do you know that? It's true of all of us. My oh my. Even the wrath of man. So praise him. Think of Christ
on the cross. They crucified him. And there he is saving a multitude
of people. And here we are praising him
now. My, oh my. It's absolutely amazing,
I'll tell you why. And it's no doubt that these
magistrates felt the earthquake the night before. They were right
there in Philippi. And the report of what took place
in prison had probably reached their ears. That in itself may have made
them come to such a quick decision. We don't know, but that may have
influenced it. Oh man, these men are preaching this fellow
named Jesus Christ and all of a sudden there's an earthquake
and none of them are even leaving. My oh my. And the next day, God's purpose is
revealed in the fact that the magistrates say, let him go. Remember, the keeper of the prison,
the very one who Paul had just baptized, bought him this news. And think, he's probably filled
with great joy, right? You're going to get released,
brother! And he desired them, they said,
you can depart in peace. Again, he would have wanted to
release them the night before, but he didn't have any authority
to do that. And just as a citizen of any
country has certain rights over those who are not citizens, The
same is true with being a Roman citizen. It came, again, with
rights and privileges that stretched all across the Roman Empire.
Now let's read verses 37, 38 again. But Paul said of them,
they have beaten us openly, uncondemned, so we know there was no trial
then. Because if there'd been a trial
and they'd found guilty, then they'd be condemned, right? No
trial. being Romans. Boom. That's a bomb. And how do we know that? Listen
to their reaction. And have cast us in prison, and
now do they trust, thrust us out privately. Now they're saying,
so they, they, they threw us in prison as Romans. And now
they want to put them out of the bed quietly. These guys are snakes. Oh my. Nay, barely. I love this. But let them come
themselves and fetch us out. Now Paul's a Roman. He's got
rights that they don't have. And he knows he can speak with
authority here. And you know what? They gotta
come. Look at this. And the sergeants
told these words unto the master-aids, and they feared. They were quaking
in their boots. They were trembling from the
top of their head all the way down to the bottom of their feet. They were terrified. when they had heard that they
were Romans. Philippi, again, was a Roman
colony with many extra legal privileges than some of the other
Greek cities. That could be in jeopardy if
the Roman Senate found out that the magistrates in that city
had beaten Romans and then had done it unjustly, they could be in a serious violation of Roman
law, because you did not do that to Romans. They had to have a
trial. It didn't matter how wealthy
the fellow was or how poor he was. As a Roman citizen, they
were entitled to a trial. So this is a serious violation
of colonial legal status, beloved. And we see Paul speaks to the
sergeants, and when he told them, that probably took them by surprise.
I guarantee it took them by surprise. Nobody asked them if they were
Romans. They just assumed they were Jews. and timothy being
a greek just beat him you know what happened they were
so enraged aren't they but all this again note how god takes
the wrath of man and and takes it to praise him the flipping
jailer the lord saves his family the lord saves and you know what's
gonna happen here As I was putting this study together, I was wondering,
why did Paul just bring that out? And John Gill, brother,
John Gill brought out a great point. He said, he said, he's
doing this not to draw attention to himself. He's doing this to
protect the Philippian church. Now he's got a hook now, doesn't
he? You persecute that church, I'm
gonna tell the Roman Senate what happened. And Paul and Silas are definitely
looked at as the leaders, aren't they? We know from our study
in Sunday school that the Philippian church was established when Paul
and Silas went to Philippi. Oh my, and we're seeing it right
here. Isn't it wonderful? Seeing the birth of the Philippian
church. And before they cast Paul and
Silas into prison, Paul didn't declare himself to be a Roman
to escape the public scourging or to keep him and Silas out
of the prison, no. He knew that whatever him and
Silas went through was ordained by God for a particular reason. And again, we know now that it
was the appointed time of love for the Philippian jailer. And all Paul and Silas had been
doing was they were going around preaching the gospel, and the
young lady, who was a slave because her masters were gaining gain
from her, was following them around and crying out that Paul
and Silas were sent by God, but Paul didn't appreciate that because
she's possessed with a demon. So he cast the demon out, remember,
and they lost any gain that they could get from her. She's now,
the demon's gone, by the name of Jesus, right? By the power
of Jesus. So then they took him before the magistrates, and we
all know what happened next. So she's causing a ruckus while
they're preaching the gospel. My oh my. So they're not guilty
of any crime, they didn't break any laws, did they? That's why
he said, uncondemned. You put us in prison uncondemned.
You didn't even give us a trial. Well, we know the trial would
have found them not guilty of anything, right? Oh, my. And Paul knew that when
they found out he was a Roman, it would grip their hearts with
fear, their unregenerate hearts with fear. And notice, they didn't fear
God, but they sure feared the Romans, didn't they? Nothing new under the sun, is
there? People are still the same way. The innocence of Paul and Silas
would honor the Christian name, too. The fact that they were
innocent, that would honor the name of Christianity, the name
of Christ, in the hearts of God's born-again blood-washed saints.
Vile unbelievers still have no concern for Christ, but the saints
would be built up by this. And proving the innocence of
these two servants of God would be important for those new converts,
or for any new converts as well. You know why? Because when they
let them go, they're saying they didn't do anything wrong. What
were they doing? They were preaching the gospel,
right? So they would have no further recourse on that Philippian
church if they were preaching the gospel. See how God works, beloved? It's
absolutely amazing. God is protecting this church. He's going before them. It's
absolutely amazing. My oh my. So basically, verse
39 will bring forth that preaching the gospel is not illegal. And therefore, the door is open
for future believers to preach Christ. Look at verse 38. And the sergeants
told these words unto the magistrates, and they feared when they heard
that they were Romans. My, oh, my. Now, if these ungodly
men hated and persecuted Paul and Silas, they were surely going
to persecute the new converts. You see how, again, God's moving
and protecting them? He does the same for you and
I, beloved. We don't even see it. It's amazing. I'll tell you,
it's absolutely amazing. Oh my. Now they're filled with
fear because they find out they're Romans. So what comfort we can
find here, beloved, knowing that we are citizens of heaven, just
as Paul and Silas are. And as God protected them and
protected the church at Philippi, he'll protect us. We've seen
that through the years, haven't we? He's taken good care of us,
hasn't he? He's knit our hearts in love.
It's amazing. Absolutely amazing. So the magistrates
were filled with fear for violating Roman law and what they had done. Now what
they had done to Paul and Silas, and we're going to see in them
admitting that and letting Paul and Silas go, there's no recourse
for them to persecute the Christians in the future for that same thing,
preaching the gospel. My oh my. So the purpose of Paul's protest
was to protect the new church at Philippi. He's not looking
for status. He's not looking for notoriety.
God, in his providential purpose, is protecting the church by having
Paul announce this. When I saw that, when I was putting
this together, it blew my mind away, because I'd never seen
that before. I preached this passage multiple
times and never saw that. Isn't that amazing? But in light
of what we've seen, God's providential hand at work through our studies,
it just, it's so clear, isn't it? So clear. Now remember, Paul, here, Paul's
the one who they threw in the prison, and he says, tell him
to come here. They need to come here. I'm not moving. You imagine the groveling and
humility that those men must have felt that now they've got
to go, and they're trembling, beloved. They're terrified. And
they got to go stand in front of a Roman who they beat unjustly? You better believe they're terrified.
There, they are shaking in their boots, beloved. Oh my, look at
this. The sergeants told the words
unto the magistrates and they feared. They were gripped with
fear right away when they heard that they were Romans. You ever
been gripped with fear? Like fear that just terrifies
you? I think we've all went through that at one point of our lives.
That's what this was like. They thought, we're dead. We're dead. Look at verse 39. And they came and besought them,
and bought them out, and desired them to depart from the city.
So they came when they were called. They didn't want to. They're
probably shaking in their boots. We don't know how many of them
are, but they're probably shaking in their boots the whole time
they're going there. And look at this, and they came
and besought them. Oh my. They besought them. They desired them to leave the
city. And they came, and besought them,
and bought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city.
Now, the reason why, again, the magistrates wanted them to depart was not because they had caused them
injury. That had already been done. The reason they're concerned
is because Paul's a Roman. And he just might take this all
the way to the Senate. He had that right. He had that
right. And as I said, they would lose
multiple privileges. They were afraid of what the
Romans would do to them. And notice they're not afraid of
God, but they're so terrified about the Romans. Is that not
true even today? Man's terrified you you you look
in the news. There's a thousand and one calamities
that people get worried about Like I mean it gets so upset
so worked up Just pick one, but they don't
fear God and every one of them is gonna die one day Just like
every one of us is gonna die one day. But we who are the redeemed
have a hope, don't we? We have a hope in Christ. We're
gonna see our king face to face. Not because of anything we did,
but all because of what he's done. Turn if you would to Matthew
chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10. So they're
afraid of the Roman Senate, these folks. They're afraid if they're found
guilty, they're gonna lose their life. But before that, they're
going to lose their status. They're going to lose their wealth.
And then they're going to lose their life. Because Rome did not take it
kindly when you beat their citizens. Not at all. And they knew that
they would be severely punished by the Romans. And again, isn't
it amazing? And I was here. I was there.
I was there before the Lord saved me. I was there. I feared what
man could do to me, not what God could do to me. I never even
thought of that. Look at this in Matthew chapter 10, though.
This is amazing. Look at this. Start in verse 26. Go to verse
28. This is the master speaking.
This is God incarnate in the flesh telling his people this.
So this is for our learning. It was recorded for our learning,
too. Look at this. Fear them not, therefore, For
there's nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and hidden
that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness,
that speak ye in the light, and what ye hear in the ear, that
preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill
the body. See, these Philippian magistrates
are fearing those who could kill the body. That's the state of natural man.
I was there, were you? That's where we were. Look at this. But are not able
to kill the soul. See, our dear brothers and sisters
who've been persecuted for Christ, that have been put to the sword
or put to death for Christ, man killed the body, but the
soul went to glory, didn't it? Isn't that wonderful? Who's the
one in control here? God is. Look at this. But rather
fear Him. God. Fear God. which is able
to destroy both soul and body in hell. And that's why we say, look to
Christ and live. He's the only hope for sinners.
Our God is sovereign. Our Savior is sovereign. My, my oh my. So the magistrates came to Paul
as Paul demanded. You know what they did? They
came with their tail between their legs. Did you know that? You
ever notice your dog, my dog, he does something wrong, right?
And I'm like, Ollie! And he gets this like, and then
his butt starts to wag, eh? And you can't be mad at the dog.
But they, that's how that is. They're like, oh. Come with their tail between
their legs now. My, oh, my. They were all proud the day before,
weren't they? Throwing Paul and Silas in prison, having them
beaten. They're full of pride. These
men being humble. See, but they're not sorrowful
over what they did. They're sorrowful over what can
happen to them. That's the difference between
godly sorrow and natural sorrow. We're sorry for our sins now,
aren't we? We never were before. Isn't that amazing that God does?
It's only God who made us differ from these magistrates. We're
just sinners saved by grace, beloved. And notice, see that
word besought? And they came and besought them?
In the Greek, this means to beg earnestly. That's why I say they
were groveling. It means to implore. They were
begging them. What a change, eh? The ones who
thought they had all the power find out they got no power at
all. See, man thinks he can save himself.
And if he dies in their sins, they find out they can't save
themselves at all. Oh, my. So they personally came and got
Paul and Silas out of the prison. And they begged them, they besieged
them to forgive them for the injury that they had done. And
then they desired them to go out of the city quietly. Well, we know from before, when
Paul was stoned, remember, in Lystia? And he got up, what'd
he do? He went right back in the city
and preached the gospel. Paul ain't gonna listen to them.
Paul fears God more than man. What are they gonna do to him?
He's gonna preach the gospel. They can't condemn him because
they're gonna set him free. My, oh my, for doing that. They wanted them to leave as
soon as possible. And they did not want Paul and Silas to return with
any representatives from the Roman Senate, because that'd
be the end. Also, it's obvious these evil
magistrates would not have wanted Paul and Silas to hear of any
ill treatment imposed upon those who had been converted into the
Christian faith. Right? Because if they heard
that, they might think, well, they're going to go tell what
happened to the Roman Senate then. So that would put a check
on them, wouldn't it? They ought to put a check on
those men. See, God rules and overrules, doesn't he? Man makes
plans, but Tim James would say, man makes plans and God disposes. These men just thought, well,
we're just sending them back. Well, God chose the situation
to dispose in a different way, didn't he? And Paul and Silas are going
to go spend the night with Lydia at her house. And they're going
to rejoice about the things of Christ. And then they're going
to depart. Oh, look at verse 40. And they
went out of the prison and entered into the house of Lydia. And
when they had seen their brethren, they comforted them and departed.
They comforted them. They talked about Christ. They
rejoiced in the fellowship they have with one another. They broke
bread like we're going to do. Isn't it wonderful? My, oh my. Paul and Silas left the prison
not as convicted prisoners, but exonerated. Exonerated by God,
right? My, oh my, it's wonderful. All
those accusations that people brought against them were false. And God proved it to be so, didn't
he? Oh, beloved, He takes care of
us. He's so good to us. Let us marvel
that all other events that were ordained by our sovereign Lord,
who works all things after the counsel of His own will. In Ephesians
it says, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being
predestined according to the purpose of Him that worketh all
things after the counsel of His own will. And that all things
includes what we're reading today. And even right up to today, right?
Isn't that amazing? Paul and Silas were released
as free men. They entered the house of Lydia.
They comforted the brethren. Then they departed. And I love this. They didn't
leave the city until they checked in on Lydia, the new convert.
Isn't that amazing? God takes care of his people,
doesn't he? He's taking care of his people. And again, they'd
have talked about what the Lord accomplished in the salvation
of the Philippian jailer. Paul would be saying, hey, got
a brethren, his family over here. Now y'all can get together and
rejoice. Oh my. And notice Paul's love
and concern for the brethren. It's on full display here. He
didn't just leave the city. He went and saw Lydia and comforted
the brethren. It's wonderful. My, Paul, and
now remember this too, Paul didn't always have this love in his
heart, did he? Remember on the road to Damascus, he's there,
he's going to kill Christians. He hated them. But he's born again now, isn't
he? By the Holy Spirit of God, the same spirit we're born again
by. He's got faith given to him, faith in Christ, same faith we
have. He's clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ, same
righteousness we're clothed in as believers. Isn't that wonderful? I'll tell you, it fills my heart
with joy, beloved. Paul was a self-righteous false
religionist with nothing but hate in his heart for God, and
nothing but hate in his heart for the Lord Jesus Christ, and
nothing but hate in his heart for the people of God. And by
God's amazing grace, he's transformed. He's a new creature. Now he loves
God. He loves Jesus Christ. He loves
God's people. He loves preaching the gospel.
My, oh my. God took an old rebel, didn't
he? just like every one of us, and turned him into a trophy
of his grace. That's true of every believer.
Oh my, Paul was born again by the Holy Spirit of God. By God's
almighty power, that love of God was shed abroad in his heart.
Think of us now. Think of the love that we have
shed abroad in our heart for one another. That comes from God.
That comes from God, the Holy Spirit working in us. It's amazing. And that same love Paul had for
the brethren at Philippi is the same love we have for the brethren
here. Isn't that amazing? It's incredible. Because we have
the same spirit. Till we've experienced the miracle
of the new birth, our natural heart was enmity against God.
That's why we must be born again, beloved. We must be born again. And when we are, every true believer
has the same Christian love in their hearts that we see Paul,
the apostle, had here. Listen to this. Our Lord said,
by this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you
have love one to another, John 13, 35. Peter, writing under divine inspiration,
said, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently. In Hebrews, it says, consider
one another to provoke unto love and to good works, Hebrews 10,
24. See, people who once hated God
now love Him. It's amazing. And may God help us to manifest
our love for the Lord Jesus Christ by our love and concern for one
another. I was thinking about this today. I was listening to
a message by Donnie this week, and he brought out how, you know,
you see someone, they're mean as a rattlesnake. And they're
supposed to be saved. And they're mean as a rattlesnake.
I mean, they're just rotten. That's not Christian love. That's
called no grace, isn't it? That's what that's called. There's
no grace there. Listen to what the Lord said.
By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have
loved one to another. None of us are looking to attain
a position. We're all the same sinners saved
by the grace of God in Christ. Let us rejoice, beloved. And we're all—you know how it's
easy to love God's people? Because they're sinners just
like me, and they're redeemed by the same blood I'm redeemed
by, and clothed in the same righteousness as I am. And let us look at God's people
as God looks at us in Christ. You're in Christ. You who are
true believers, you're in Christ. Isn't that amazing? Why? I like that though. By this shall
all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one to another." John
13, 35. So we see Paul manifested that
love for the Philippian saints by not leaving the city right
away, but by going into Lydia's house and comforting her. Isn't
God amazing? I'll tell you why. It's absolutely
incredible how good our God is to us. My, oh my. Brother Neil, can you close us
in prayer, brother?