All right, we're turning in our
Bibles this evening to the book of Acts, chapter 16. Now, Paul
and Silas had journeyed to Philippi. And on the Sabbath day, because
there was no synagogue in the city, Paul and Silas went out of the
city by the river, by the riverside, where a group of women, probably
ten or twelve, because as I told you, if they had a synagogue,
there had to be a certain number of people who attended. So they met by the riverside
for prayer. These women had never heard the
gospel of Christ. They were people who followed
the law and the commandments of Moses. And Paul preached to
them the gospel of Christ. And a certain woman named Lydia came to faith in
Christ. God opened her heart and she
attended to the things spoken by the apostle. And she and her household were
all baptized and confessed Christ. And then she said to Paul, if
you've counted me worthy, would you just use my home as a place
for believers to meet, preachers to preach, and spend their time? And you know, after all of this
we read in chapter 16, we came down to verse 40. We started with Lydia in Philippi
and wound up with Lydia in verse 40. It says, after they'd been
cast out of prison and so forth, they went out of the prison and
entered into the house of Lydia. And when they'd seen the brethren,
they comforted them and departed. All right, let's look at verse
16. And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, A certain damsel,
possessed with a spirit of divination, met us, which brought her masters
much gain by fortune-telling, soothsaying, predicting the future,
all this sort of thing. And this same woman followed
Paul and us, Paul and Luke and Timothy and Silas, crying, saying,
are the servants of the Most High God, which show unto us
the way of salvation." Now what she said was the truth. These
men are the servants of the Most High God, and they do show unto
us the way of salvation. Paul and his friends, they preach
the way of salvation, the way of Christ's blood and Christ's
righteousness. They preach the only way of salvation
by the cross of Christ Jesus, and they preach the way that
God Almighty has ordained from all eternity as the way of salvation. She told the truth. These men
are the servants of the Most High God. God sent them, and
they do show unto us the way of salvation. Whether she said
this on her own accord, I do not know. I do know she said
it. Or by divine impulse. Or out
of fear. Maybe she was afraid of Paul. Or maybe she was trying to flatter
Paul. Or maybe this is the work of
Satan. To stir up opposition against
Paul. John Gill said this, what she
said was the truth. These men are the servants of
the Most High God, and they do verily show unto us the way of
salvation. And he said, summing all this
up, even the devil is obliged to speak the truth once in a
while, even if it's to serve trouble. Alright, look at verse
18. And this she did, this she did,
crying out like this for many days, not just once or twice,
but for many days. And Paul, being grieved by this,
worried of this, turned to the spirit, the evil spirit, the
unclean spirit, and the apostle Paul said, I command thee, in
the name of Jesus Christ. I command thee in the name of
Jesus Christ to come out of her and he came out the same hour.
Now I want to say a few words right here now. This happened. Paul turned to
this young woman being wearied of this demon and this unclean
spirit disturbing him and the people. And he commanded her
in the name of Christ to come out. But now let's turn to Matthew
chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10. Chapter 10
verse 1. In Matthew chapter 10 verse 1,
and when our Lord called unto him his twelve disciples. He
gave them power. Christ gave them power, his twelve
disciples, against unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal
all manner of sicknesses and diseases. Christ gave them that
power. One more verse, turn to Mark
chapter 16. Mark the 16th chapter, as our
Lord was sending the apostles out after his resurrection to
preach the gospel, he said in Mark chapter 16, verse 15, Now
the Lord Jesus appeared to the eleven, and verse 15, he said
to them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and
he that believeth not shall be damned. This is the Lord speaking
now. And these signs, these miracles,
These credentials shall follow them that believe. In my name
they'll cast out devils, unclean spirit, and they'll speak with
new tongues." Now, these signs followed these apostles. Now
remember, the word wasn't complete then. These disciples wrote the
word. God inspired them and breathed
unto them. the word, which they wrote later. But at this particular time,
these signs followed Paul, Peter, James, and John, but not all
of them. Everybody didn't cast out demons,
not all of them, and not always. Our Lord Jesus said, in my name
you shall cast out demons. So not all of them cast out demons,
and not all the time were they able to cast out demons, and
it was only for a time. Only for a time. Only God can
give power over demons. It's just like when the angel
Gabriel confronted Moses, confronted Satan regarding the body of Moses. The angel Gabriel said, Satan,
the Lord rebuke thee. I'm not fooling with this. The
Lord rebuke thee. And our Lord did give these signs. Now these signs, let me show
you, let's turn to Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2. Now these signs that our Lord
Jesus gave to his disciples were for the confirmation of the gospel,
not for entertainment, but for the confirmation of the gospel
and for the establishment of the gospel. These signs were
given for a reason to these men, to confirm the gospel and also
to establish the gospel. Hebrews chapter 2 verse 3. How shall we escape if we neglect
so great salvation? Which at the first began to be
spoken by our Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard our
Lord. Those apostles that were with
him in the regeneration. God also bearing them witness. Bearing who witness? The apostles,
these men went out and preached the gospel to a world, a hostile
world that didn't have a Bible even, a New Testament. And God
bore them witness with signs and wonders and diverse miracles
and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his will. Now I want to show
you one other scripture, 1 Corinthians 14. But signs are not for believers. Signs are not for believers,
not even these miraculous signs. Signs are for unbelievers. I
turn to 1 Corinthians 14 verse 21. 1 Corinthians 14 verse 21. In the law it is written, with
men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people,
and yet for all that Will they still not hear me say the Lord? Wherefore tongues are for a sign,
not to them that believe. Believers don't need a sign.
All they need is the Word of God, the truth of God. They don't
need a sign. Show us a sign. He said no sign
will be given but the Word of God. So signs are not for people
who believe, but to them who don't believe. Rebels, prophesying
serveth not for them that believe not. People who believe the gospel
hear the gospel, love the gospel, rejoice in the gospel. People
who don't hear the gospel won't receive it. So prophesying, that's what serveth
for them. service, not for them that believe
not, but for them which believe. Prophecy and prophesying, that's
what serves God's people. So this power, go back to this
woman now, this power in Acts 16, when he cast out this woman,
this continued for a time among the apostles and believers. By calling upon and using the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ, miracles were performed for the
confirmation of the gospel, for the confirmation for the establishment
of the gospel. We don't use them now. Besides
that, our Lord Jesus Christ said this one time. The greatest man
born of woman, John the Baptist. But John did no miracle, not
a one. John the Baptist never performed
a miracle, ever, in his ministry. So it's not necessary. And if
you hear these people talk about, well, if you speak in tongues,
you're more spiritual than others. You're not as spiritual as John
the Baptist, and he never spoke of the time. If you don't do
signs and wonders, you're not as spiritual. John the Baptist
did no signs or wonders. Most spiritual man that ever
lived, Christ said. Greater man never lived. So God
uses these things for his own will, his own purpose, his own
glory. So you leave it right where it
is. Don't establish any kind of casting
out demons. You don't want to pull with that,
I promise you. So verse 19. And when her master saw that
the hope of their gains were gone, they caught Paul and Silas
and drew them into the marketplace and to the rulers, and brought
them out to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews,
do exceedingly trouble our city." You see, these men, they were
using this woman, and she was telling fortunes and soothsaying,
and when they saw that this woman's demons were cast out, And their
hope of their gain was gone, and they lost all the power and
means to support themselves from her. They cast the disciples
into prison. Read on verse 21. These men teach
customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to
observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up against
them, and the magistrates went off their clothes and commanded
them to beat them. And when they'd laid many stripes
upon Paul and Cyrus and Timothy, they cast them into prison, charging
the jailer to keep them safely, who receiving, who having received
such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their
feet fast in the stocks. And the scripture says here in
verse 25, and at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises
unto God, and the prisoners heard them. These men had been beaten,
mistreated, cast into prison, cold and weary and hungry, and
they prayed. They prayed. What was Paul praying about?
give you four or five things. Number one, he was praying for
deliverance. That's right, deliverance from
prison. Paul wanted to be preaching.
Paul wanted to meet with those people down there that he'd been
preaching to, Lydia and all the rest of them. He prayed to be
delivered. I know Paul said, I'm content
in whatsoever state I am. But nevertheless, he prayed for
deliverance. And we pray for deliverance also,
if it be possible. Let this cup pass from you. That's what our Lord said. Secondly,
I believe they prayed for support. They prayed encouraging one another. They were in a terrible condition.
In a dungeon, in a prison, having been beaten. And their hands
and feet locked in stocks and fetters. And they prayed for
support. Lord, give us support. Give us
grace in these afflictions. Hungry, hurting, they prayed
for support, encouragement. Thirdly, I believe that Paul
was praying for these believers in Philippi. He'd been preaching
to them several days, and met at Lydia's home, and taught them
the gospel, and now he's separated from them in prison. Didn't know whether he'd ever
get out or not. He prayed, Lord, bless my people. Bless my children. Bless my brothers and my sisters.
Be with them now. These women and others who believe,
I pray for them. I believe Paul was praying for
the churches of the Lord Jesus Christ and the success of the
gospel. Brethren, pray for us. Paul kept saying that all day.
Brethren, pray for us. So don't look over this scripture
here. And at midnight, Paul and Silas,
at midnight, in the most most difficult circumstances, he sang
praises to God, and he prayed. All right, verse 26. Suddenly,
suddenly there was an earthquake. Suddenly there was a great earthquake,
so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately
all the doors were opened and everyone's bands were loosed. Suddenly there was a great earthquake.
God was pleased to reveal his presence and his power and his
hand. God revealed his hand. Secondly,
the very foundations of the prison were shaken, not just the walls
shook, not just the roof became dislodged. But the very foundations
of that dungeon were shaken. When God sends an earthquake,
it's an earthquake. And then all the doors were open.
He says all the doors were open in that prison. And everyone's
bands, everyone's feathers and chains were just dropped off. Well, verse 27. And the keeper
of the prison, this jailer, What about him? He awakened out of
his sleep. I hear preachers talk about this jailer. Paul and Silas
were over there playing and singing praises and he was listening
under conviction. He was listening to them sing
and praise and he got under conviction. No, he was sound asleep. You
talk about a ruthless, hardened, individual, it was this fella. These men had been beaten, and
striped, and cast into the prison, and chained to the wall, and
he went over there and went sound asleep. Even when the greatest
preacher that ever lived was singing praises to God and praying
to God, and he was sound asleep. Sound asleep. He wasn't in trouble. And when the keeper of the prison
awakened out of his sleep and saw the doors open, he was afraid. And he drew out his sword and
would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had fled.
You know, look back at verse 23. Two verses you must not miss. Verse 23 of Acts 16. And when
they had laid many stripes upon Paul and Silas, they cast them
into prison, charging the jailers to keep them safely. This is
your charge, this is your responsibility. You better keep them. Whom having
received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and
made their feet harnessed with stocks. You fellas aren't going
anywhere. It's up to me to keep you. So
when that earthquake came and that foundation was shaken and
the doors fell off and the fetters fell off, he grabbed his sword
out of the scabbard and would kill himself because he knew
that the magistrates would kill him along with his family. The
fellow, this jailer, lived in the prison. His family lived
in the prison. He was in charge of the prison,
and he lived in the prison, and his family lived in the prison.
Because that's the reason Paul wasn't, he didn't kick Paul out.
When he washed their stripes and made them, and cleaned them
up, and fed them meat, he was in the prison. Paul never left,
he never went anywhere. They had to come take him out.
This man was in charge there, and he was going to kill himself.
So verse 28, and Paul said with a loud voice, do yourself no
harm, we're all right here. You know, you'd think that Paul,
when the doors were falling open and the fetters were gone, he'd
just charge out of there. He was in no hurry, waiting on
the Lord. Let God do what he would. He
knew God sent the earthquake, and he was in full charge of
what would happen as a result of the earthquake, and this man
wasn't going to be killed. He said, you just stay right
where you are, because we're all here. We're all here. All right, verse 29. So he called
for a light, this jailer, and sprang in. He sprang in to the
prison, and he came trembling. He had good cause to tremble.
He'd seen the power of God, the awesome power of God, and he
fell trembling. And then he says he fell down
at the feet of Paul and Silas. He fell down at the feet of these
men out of respect, out of fear, and out of reverence. There's
a whole different ballgame here today with this man. He fell
down out of respect, out of fear and out of reverence. And he
brought them out, verse 30, and he said, sirs, I like that, sirs,
that's a big change, sirs. Not prisoners, not thieves, robbers. Treating them with the utmost
respect, the utmost reverence and response to God's power,
he said, sirs, What must I do to be saved? Well,
Paul replied in verse 31, as he always does in answer to a
question. The man asked him a question.
He said, what should I do to be saved? And Paul replied, he
always does. He said, well, believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Now I want to show
you something here. The title I gave this message
was Saul of Tarsus and the Philippian jailer, the similarity between
the two, the parallel, Saul of Tarsus and the Philippian jailer,
just a few chapters separating the two, Saul of Tarsus and the
Philippian jailer. Their experience, the experience
Saul of Tarsus was a rebel, a ruthless man, on his way to destroy Christians. And God sent a light from heaven,
brighter than the sun. Well, this man, this jailer,
was mistreating God's people, beating them, put them in prison,
put their hands in stocks. Ruthless man. And God sent an
earthquake. This Saul of Tarsus, when God
sent that light brighter than the noonday sun, Saul did what? Fell at his feet. Fell at the
feet of Christ. Fell down in the dust at the
feet of Christ. What does it say here in Acts
16? That this man, this man, keeper of the prison, He called
for a light and fell, verse 29, and he came trembling and fell
down before Paul and Silas, fell down. Then Saul, who saw the light, who experienced the power of
God, who was brought down in the dust, he asked a question. What would you have me do? and
the Philippian jailer, who saw the power of God shake that prison,
put him in the dust, felt trembling, and said to Paul, a question,
what would you have me do? Well, our Lord answered that
question to Saul of Tarsus. Back there in Acts chapter 9,
Saul said, Who art thou, Lord? I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom
thou perceivest. What would you have me do? it will be told you what to do. There's going to be a time when
I'm going to tell you what needs to be done. And this man right
here, I want you to look at chapter, Acts 16. He brought them, verse
30, brought them out and says, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt
be saved. But that's not You can't believe
on him whom you haven't heard. You can't hear without a preacher. You can't preach that there'll
be sin. So look to the next line. And
Paul and Silas spake unto him the word of the Lord unto all
that were in his house. You've got to have the gospel. Not just an experience, not just
a light, not just an earthquake. Not just being shaken hand, shaken
up, and fearful and trembling, and getting some new words, sirs,
and respect and reverence. You've got to hear who is the
Savior and how he saves. And so when Paul fell trembling
at the feet of Christ and said, what must I do? The Lord said,
Ananas, go down there to Damascus and tell him what to do. Tell
him. the Spirit of the Lord God has
chosen you, that you might know his will and see the just one,
and so forth. And then this man, the jailer,
Saul was just as ignorant as the jailer. He got to be told,
got to be told. Ananias had got to come to Saul
with the gospel and spent many days with him. And this man,
the jailer, It won't be just an emotional experience or a
song or a cliche. It's got to be the gospel. I preached a sermon one time,
a long time ago, on this question. On this question. Some questions
that I would ask the Philippian jailer if I were in his position,
some questions I'd ask him. I believe Paul answered all the
questions this man needed, that time that he was with them. Let's
show this right here to you. In Acts 16.32, they spake unto
him the word of the Lord, and to all that was in his house.
And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their
stripes, and he was baptized, he and all his straight way.
And when he brought them into his house, he set meat before
them, and he rejoiced." Doing what? Believing in God with all
his heart. The Apostle Paul taught him the
gospel in this time together. I don't know how long he was
there, but I've got about four or five questions I want to give
you. And that I believe that Paul
might have dealt with on this particular man. Alright, this
is the jailor speaking. Speaking to Paul. You say that salvation is believing
on Jesus Christ. Who is Jesus Christ? Who is Jesus
Christ? Well, Paul would answer. There
are three that by record in heaven, the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit, and these three are one. Who is Jesus Christ? He's Emmanuel, God with us. He
says it, Behold the Lord give you a sign, a virgin shall be
with child, and you call his name Emmanuel, God with us. Another
scripture, under us a child is born, under us a son is given. And the government shall be on
his shoulders in his name. This child shall be called, his
name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father. Who is Jesus of Nazareth? He's
Jesus, Joshua, Savior of his people. See the woman that bruises
a serpent's head. Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
seen of the angels, justified by the Spirit, believed on in
the world. Who is Jesus Christ? He's the Messiah. He's the Redeemer. He's a prophet like Moses. He's
a priest like Melchizedek. He's a king like David. He's
the Abel's lamb. He's the Passover. He's the tabernacle. He's the serpent lifted up. He's
the rock smitten. He's the way, the truth, and
the life. That's who he is. And they dealt with that, I'm
sure, fully. Second question. Who appointed
him to this office? Apostle Paul wrote in Hebrews,
no man takes this honor unto himself, but he that is called
of God. So also Christ did not glorify
himself to be the high priest, but he that saith unto him, this day have I begotten thee."
God made him the high priest. God made him Emmanuel. God made
him Jehovah. God made him prophet, priest,
and king. And back here in Hebrews chapter
1, the Lord said this, God hath spoken unto us by his Son, whom
he appointed heir of all things, by whom he made the world. who
being the brightness of his glory, the express image of his person,
upholdeth all things by the word of his power, when he had by
himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of God.
The Spirit of God is upon me, Christ said. He hath anointed
me. He hath made me in Isaiah chapter
61. Listen to this scripture. Isaiah
61. Spirit of God, the Lord God is
upon me because he hath anointed me to preach glad tidings. Bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim
liberty to the captive, opening of sight, open prison to those
that are bound, and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Third question, all right, who
is Jesus Christ? Who appointed him to this office?
Thy art my son, this day have I begotten thee." When the disciples
were up in the Mount of Transfiguration, and they appeared with Moses
and Elijah, and the Lord God said, this is my beloved son,
in whom I am well pleased. Third question. You say Jesus
Christ is appointed to the office of Redeemer. And he came into
the world to save sinners. How did he save them? What did
he do to save people? All right, let's turn to Romans
3. I believe Paul would just about quote this verse right
here in Romans chapter 3. What did he do to save them?
How did he save them? All right, Romans 3 verse 19.
Now we know that what things are under the law saith it saith
to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped
and all the world become guilty before God. Therefore by the
deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in God's
sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being
witnessed by the law and the prophets. It's the righteousness
of God which is by the faithfulness, by the obedience, by the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. unto all, and upon all them that
believe. There is no difference for all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a what? A propitiation,
a mercy seat, a covering, an atonement through faith in his
blood. to declare his righteousness
for the remission of sins that have passed through the forbearance
of God, to declare, I tell you, at this time, his righteousness,
that God may be just and the justifier of him that believeth
in Jesus. A just God has got to be a justifier. And that's how Christ's redeemed. He was wounded for our transgression,
bruised for our iniquities. has satisfaction of our peace
laid upon him by his stripes." Verse 38 and 39. Verse 29 and
31. Acts 13 verse 29. When they had
fulfilled all that was written of Christ, they took him down
from the tree, laid him in a sepulcher, but God raised him from the dead. Verse 38. And so be it known
unto you, men and brethren, through this This man is preached unto you
the forgiveness of sins, and by him all that believe are justified
from all things from which you could not be justified by the
law of Moses. Look at Acts 17, verse 31. Acts 17, 31. Because he hath
appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness,
by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance
unto all men, in that he raised him from the dead." Christ is risen. Where is he
now? At the right hand of God. Well, this jailer has come down
to this point right here. Is this for me? Is this for me? So I'm going to read Romans 8. And it gives us all the assurance
we need that this is meant for us, this gospel. It's my gospel
and your gospel. In Romans chapter 8, verse 28. You bear with me. I'm going to
close by reading this scripture. And we know, we know that all
things work together for good. to them who love God, who are
the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate, to be conformed to the image of his
Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover,
whom he did predestinate, them he called, whom he called, them
he justified, whom he justified, them he also glorified." What
shall we say to these things? We say, if God be for us, who
can be against us? He despaired not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with him freely
give us all things? Who can lay anything to the charge
of God's elect? God did justify it. Who is he
that condemns it? It is Christ that died. Yea,
rather that it is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Now who's going to separate
us from the love of God? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or so on?
As it is written, for thy sake we're killed all the day long.
We're counted as sheep for the slaughter. Yea, nay, in all these
things, we're more than conquerors through him that loved us. For
I'm persuaded, neither death nor life, nor angels nor principality,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." And
that man, he heard the gospel and received
it and believed it, confessed his Lord in Grace of
God.