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Do You Have A Heavenly Perspective? (PM Lesson Outline)
GIST: Long to see God honored by a faithful witness, be willing to face slander and danger for His name, praise Him even in the storms of life, care more about Him being known than your own comforts, and look for opportunities to share Him in all circumstances.
SCRIPTURE: Acts 16:16-40
I actually outlined this portion of the sermon back in May when I didn’t realize we weren’t having evening services the last Sunday we were in Acts before our Summer in the Psalms. So, my original plan was to cover this whole passage in just one fell swoop. However, when studying over the passage this week, I couldn’t shake the need to address both this perspective and the conversions. That’s why we spent this morning talking about how God’s grace was revealed in the lives of these two individuals and how that mirrors our own experiences. Tonight, I want to flip the perspective around and look at the missionaries on this journey, and how they made the most of every situation God placed them in. As we’re all missionaries, we all have the same uniting mission: sharing Jesus wherever we are, there is something for us to take away from this. We’re going to walk through this using a series of six questions. If I had to give you a gist, it would be this lengthy one: Long to see God honored by a faithful witness, be willing to face slander and danger for His name, praise Him even in the storms of life, care more about Him being known than your own comforts, and look for opportunities to share Him in all circumstances.
Let’s pray and dive in. Question→
1. Do you want to see God honored by faithful witnesses? (16-18)
“16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation." 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out that very hour. “
Sinful Situation: Remember from this morning, this is a girl possessed by a demonic spirit who the people would have credited to be the good (though false) god Apollo. So this is triumph of the true Son of God over a false one. But, she’s trapped, and that’s serious.
Emotional Outburst? We talked about this this morning, as well. The text says this annoyed Paul, so he spoke. The word there seems to imply being bothered because of being burdened. Paul spoke because her testimony was detracting from the truth and because he was burdened by her miserable condition. Nonetheless, At the center of this had to have been that she was tainting the truth by proclaiming it. Here she was living in sin and speaking about God’s movement. She was literally taking the Lord’s name in vain...because this truth had had zero impact on her life thus far. I also feel like tone probably played some role in this, as well. We don’t know how she’s saying this, but she’s not stopped by her owners, so I feel like it is safe to at least speculate that there was a level of mockery in her voice. If people took her seriously, and given her reputation it would have been reasonable to assume they would of had she given them cause, then she would have been telling them to listen to Paul and Silas instead of her.
They wanted God to have faithful witnesses. Do you? How closely do you guard your life so that it speaks louder than the many who take God’s name in vain?
2. Are you willing to face slander & danger for His name? (19-24)
“19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, "These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice." 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.”
Bogus Blame: They were accused for… being Jewish and disrupting their customs? The entire claim was a lie. I mean, yes, they were Jewish, but that wasn’t illegal. The disruption of their customs, however, was just getting in the way of some people making money off of sin.
Physical Pain: They were beaten with many blows by rods!
Devastating Outlook: They were in the inner prison with their feet in stocks. It didn’t look like they’d be getting out any time soon. How willing would you be to face these circumstances?
3. Do you praise Him in the storms of life? (25-26)
“25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and 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 bonds were unfastened.”
Praise Before Rescue: Yes, they were rescued in an incredible way. An earthquake shook in such a way as to open the doors...and release their bonds! This is awesome. BUT, they were singing way before this happened. They were singing when their bodies were broken, and they were strapped into stocks that made it nearly impossible to find any relief in sleep. They were singing when it looked like they may never get out of this situation. They kept their eyes on Jesus in the storm just as much as they had before and after! Are you in a storm right now? If not, one is probably coming. How do you react?
4. Is His proclamation more important than your preservation? (27-29)
“27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas.”
Grace Instead Of Escape. They could have escaped but stayed. Why? It seems it was because of this man. The jailor hearing about Jesus instead of taking his own life was more important to them than their escape. AMAZING GRACE! This man represented the wounds that were still fresh on their bodies, but they wanted him to experience the salvation of Jesus! Where are your priorities?
5. Are you looking for opportunities to share Him in all circumstances? (30-34)
“30 Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.”
A Life Mission That Doesn’t Take A Day Off ☺️. Honestly, these last two questions are similar to the ones above them. However, I don’t want to miss what’s happening here. Again, they could have escaped but didn’t. Now, they stop the guy from killing himself AND make sure to address his spiritual needs before looking for their immediate physical needs to be amended. Are there situations that make it harder for you to share the gospel. This one hits me between the teeth. If I’m swamped with “things to get done” (which I frequently am), I have a tendency to get tunnel vision. Do you have times like that when your circumstance might rob someone else of their eternal joy?
6. Are you zealous for His reputation? (34-40)
“35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, "Let those men go." 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, "The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace." 37 But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out." 38 The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. 40 So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.”
Future Outlook. This might seem weird at first glance. Was Paul just being petty here and looking for an apology? No. They had been taken in as criminals because they were witnessing for Jesus. If they were released in secret, then no one would ever know of their innocence and the future witness of Jesus, which the church in Philippi would be undertaking, would be facing that immediate hurtle. What had been done to them was done illegally, so Paul used what he knew would work to ensure that the witness of Christ remained blameless.
TAKEAWAYS
Yeah, let’s recap here ☺️.
1. Do you want to see God honored by faithful witnesses?
2. Are you willing to face slander & danger for His name?
3. Do you praise Him in the storms of life?
4. Is His proclamation more important than your preservation?
5. Are you looking for opportunities to share Him in all circumstances?
6. Are you zealous for His reputation?
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