Author: missionspaul

What will you do at midnight?

Acts 16:25 “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”

Paul and Silas have been severely beaten and thrown into prison because of the gospel.

It is now the end of the day and God has not rescued them out of their darkness. Some people say God always steps in, even if it is the last minute of the 11^th hour. Friends, sometimes God does not. Just ask John the Baptist and James.  But it is what you do if He doesn’t help you that becomes of great importance. Perhaps it hurts Him to wait but He does because of the “other prisoners” who are also in their dark and confused circumstance and who need the light of the gospel.

What will you do in your contained circumstance that will help someone else in theirs?

It is about midnight. The day is over. God has not changed anything. They are still there. It is pitch-dark and they are bleeding and bruised. What are they doing?

The fact that they pray and praise would indicate that their focus is not on themselves but on the worship and adoration of God in one act towards heaven. Your circumstance may lock you to the now and you may not be able to move from the stocks that have chained you to this earth. However, your heart for God is free and can choose where to go. Your spirit can rise when your body cannot move.

Jesus said “It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.” (John 11:10) and John wrote of the betrayal, “As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.” (John 13:30)

What will you do at the midnight of your circumstance?

Paul and Silas sang hymns and this most probably involved the Psalms. In fact the word ‘hymn’ is the same as what Jesus and his disciples sang after the Last Supper (Matthew 26:30). There they used the six Psalms of Psalm 113-118 which are hugely inspirational for us as we walk through our holy week. Please read one each day, start today. As you do you will realise that “He giveth songs in the night” (Job 35:10).

The inner cell of darkness

Acts 16:24 “When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.”

Paul and Silas were thrown not just in prison but because the jailer was commanded to guard them he then put them in the inner cell and had their feet fastened in the stocks.

The inner cell is a place of total darkness.

The inner cell is a place of heat.

The inner cell is even more difficult to escape from because of its many doors that block the way in and out.

The enemy of your life will do his best to get you into the inner cell.

As we walk through this holy week of Jesus we know where we are going. We are heading for the darkness of the cross. The sky will become black and the heavens will be silent, there will be no grand demonstrations in the sky as there were at his birth, no signs and wonders that we hold as important, Jesus went into the inner cell of darkness and intensity of pain with no exit route. And God is silent. He is silent because He teaches us that there are times in our lives, in the inner cell of darkness, when the most important voice is not His, but ours. The last words of Jesus at the darkest moment was ‘Father into your hands I commit my spirit.’ Then he gave his last breath. The only voice was that of Jesus. He quotes Psalm 31:5. But He is actually quoting not one verse but following the Jewish way of quotation actually pointing out the whole not just one small part. His hearers would know by rote the whole of that Psalm and so did Jesus. So at the end of this 3 hour darkness Jesus voice is speaking not only the despondency of that Psalm but importantly this also:

Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.

I trust in the Lord…. You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place… I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands …Let your face shine on your servant … How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you …

 

The most important voice is not His, but ours: and He is waiting and He is listening. Will our voice contain His words or our complaint? Jesus taught us to speak the living word of God and by doing so knowing that here in this inner cell of darkness, God is still in control.

 

Back to Paul and Silas and their voice? That is for tomorrow …

Sometimes there is no one around to wash away your wounds.

Acts 16:23

“After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.”

 

Sometimes there is no one around to wash away your wounds.

When the Jews flogged they would whip the person 39 times, never 40. But when the Romans flogged there was never any maximum limit in fact they were heading for the death of the prisoner and on occasions there are records of soldiers losing their own life if by the 40^th stripe the prisoner was not dead. So you can imagine the brute force the soldiers would give into a flogging.

How many times Paul and Silas was flogged we do not know, but it was severe. The wounds were severe. But no one was there to bathe, bandage and soothe them. Wounded they were thrown into prison and they were guarded. It wouldn’t be until the jailer was saved would he offer to bathe their wounds.

There are many who are watched by the enemy of their soul, trapped and broken. We need leaders who wash wounds today. The broken-hearted are in our churches. Life has dealt a mistreatment to their life. They need Pastors who care enough.

The triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday heralded the Holy week of Jesus. During that week we see Jesus on his knees washing the feet of even his enemies.

If you are reading this today and you still carry the wounds of life then it could be you are also imprisoned. You may never get justice. But you can ask Jesus to wash the dirt of life, the pain and the wounds from you.

 

 

Stripped and beaten

Acts 16:22  “The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten.”

There’s always a group of people who can be fuelled for the wrong reason.
There are always people who want to pull down and not build up.
They are found in all cultures and churches!
Perhaps the magistrates looked and listened to the noise of the crowd and passed their sentence.
Paul and Silas were stripped of their clothes and became hugely vulnerable and then they were painfully beaten.
Friends, if you don’t want to be vulnerable, if you don’t want to experience pain then don’t serve God. That’s the life. That’s what you sign up for.
I’m thankful for what the mission of God has done for me.
I’m thankful for being stripped of all my security and ability. I’m thankful of becoming vulnerable.
I’m thankful of being beaten, of having any ego left within me taken from me.
I’m thankful for the pain that I carry in my body and soul.
Mission changes you because the enemy of your soul attacks you.
But we are a better person being stripped and beaten.
Sunday Christians gather fully clothed with their pomp and flair. They are not beaten in fact they may beat.
You see, friends, those who are stripped and who are beaten know the flow of the anointing of God. Oil from olives and grapes come from being beaten. There’s no other way.
Yes I am thankful this morning.

Grievances and accusations

Acts 16:21
The accusation was that Paul’s team were throwing the city into uproar “by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practise.”

So the truth was they were annoyed they had lost their income because their slave girl was now free and no longer fortune telling.
However, the truth was hidden.  Instead they brought the accusation that the missions team had broken the Roman law of no one being permitted to hold to a foreign cult or have a personal God to worship.
Again, that wasn’t their grievance. But it was their accusation.
Their duplicity of grievance and accusation is revealing.
Grievance is personal but accusation often is brought regarding a bigger picture.
Grievance is personal but accusation often is about breaking established norms.
Grievance is personal but accusation often makes it about others.
When people accuse you they will sometimes draw on these three things and leave out their personal grievance. They can hide their true feelings and their hurts. They will highlight the injustice and the breaking of ‘laws’ and make a whole new scenario. Their goal is to get justice for their grievance and not their accusation. One question is never asked: “why are you really angry, what is truthfully behind this accusation?”
Have you ever wondered why the accusations are simply over the top? It’s because the grievance is underneath simmering away. Often the grievance is more important.
Grievance doesn’t have to lead to accusation. But in some people no matter what you do they will accuse you anyway because the grievance has built inside them.

This is life. This is what Jesus faced. This is what will happen. As you walk with God and do His will you will grieve people and they will accuse you. Be careful on wasting time on your defence. Be gracious. But move on. Do His will.

Stirring a city

Acts 16:20

“They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar”

Well they were not exactly throwing the city into an uproar. I feel this was an exaggeration. They were throwing the accusers into an uproar because they had lost their income from the slave girl.

It’s a good thought though isn’t it?

How about we read it like this: “These people are Christians and are throwing our city into an uproar.” Even if it wasn’t strictly true, it would be a great accusation to have!

Wouldn’t that be amazing?!

When Jesus entered into the city of Jerusalem the whole city was stirred and they asked ‘who is this?’ That’s what we will celebrate this Sunday in our churches.

But wouldn’t it be amazing if our churches stirred the cities of the nations again?!

How?

Maybe, by entering them with the purposes of God, with a declaration of victory and an atmosphere of praise to the living God, just like Jesus did.

Or maybe like Paul and his team, by delivering those held by the enemy of our lives, or by healings and transformations, or by business people bringing their own household to salvation as well as receiving themselves, or by holding baptisms down by the river or maybe by going to the place of prayer.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if we stirred every city?

Let’s start in our neighbourhood today.

When you cannot see or hear or make sense of it all: GOD

Acts 16:19

“When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. “

Those who owned the slave girl now saw she was freed from the evil spirit. The python had left her. She would no longer tell fortunes and the result was they would no longer make money.

Satan gets angry when he loses someone from darkness to light.

The enemy of your soul only launches at you because he sees God using you for the good of others.

The enemy of your soul will at times seize you. It means to lay hold of with hands, to attach oneself to the person and to obtain by grasping. One day Simon from Cyrene was on his journey and he was seized and forced to carry the cross of Jesus. When the enemy has locked on to your life you know he is taking you some place. He has a purpose for seizing you. You may ask ‘what did I do wrong for the enemy to seize me?’ But the question is ‘what did I do right?’ You were noticed, you affected the darkness and the darkness seized you.

The enemy of your soul will at times drag you. It means to forcibly take you where you do not want to go. Within this word there is the meaning of inward power. He can drag you into despair and loneliness. You may fight against it, you may try all kinds of ways but because he has seized you he is dragging you to a certain place.

The enemy of your soul will at times put you in the place of facing accusation before the authorities. For Paul and Silas they were facing the ruling elders of the Jews. One of the groups of people who brought accusation against Jesus was the rulers and authorities of the Jews. The enemy of your soul is concerned that you realise that you are not ruling the situation, you are not in control, you do not have authority over your life and that there is an enemy who can accuse you of every sin and wrongdoing that you have ever done.

This verse today doesn’t bring any comfort to us as the enemy seizes, drags us and accuses us.

But let me ask you some questions. I don’t need to give you the answers, you know them.

Whose cross are you carrying?

Who owns the path you are going down?

Who is in control?

 

 

What will it take to say finally?

Acts 16:18

“She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.”

For many days this fortune-teller kept up the shouting as she followed the team wherever they went. She was announcing who they were and what their message was. But she was hardly a John the Baptist heralding the teams coming. She was undermining their work and the gospel of Christ.

Then we have this wonderful word that many look forward to hearing every Sunday from the preacher.

Finally.

Paul had been patient. He had kept his mouth shut for several days. But his annoyance grew until he couldn’t cope anymore. He had to turn around and change this situation once and for all and to also release this girl from her suffering of the evil spirit. He didn’t do any ritual ceremony which many in the crowd would have seen. He just dealt with the spirit firmly but totally. This is it. You are finished here. It is over. The girl was free.

Friends you may have put up with something for too long. You have shown grace upon grace. But the situation is becoming untenable. It is now affecting the work that God has given you to do. It has gone too far. The work of the enemy will not stop. You have to stop the work of the enemy in your life. You need to be annoyed enough to stop it. That is it. No more. Finally I turn around to deal with this enemy that is pursuing me. “Get out!”

I hope you can be annoyed enough to do it.

Not all evangelists can be trusted!

Acts 16:17

“She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”

The slave girl follows Paul and his team. Under normal circumstances this would be a noble and good thing to do perhaps, but not if you are carrying a spirit of fortune-telling.

The slave girl announces that the team are servants not of Apollos or Python but of the Most High God, the Almighty God and everyone knew this was the God the Jews proclaimed. Again this is absolutely true and the crowds needed to know this Almighty God but not presented by a demonic girl.

The girl is shouting that the team’s message is about salvation. Salvation was here, this is what everyone needed and desired, it would save them from the burdens of this world. It still is but we don’t need the enemy to tell everyone our message.

Why did she do it?

Luke doesn’t say.

But the possible responses from the Jews and Gentiles may help us to understand. The Jews saw the demonic with all of its magic and dark activity as abhorrence to God and them.  To see this fortune-telling slave girl with an evil spirit aligning her to the gospel workers would undermine the gospel in their eyes. The Gentiles however would see their python spirit mixed in with this new gospel message and believe the whole of religion is any way is a good way and that no one needs to change or repent which is of course what the gospel message demands.

If the enemy of your life cannot stop you he will join you to frustrate you. He will try to render your voice powerless. He will undermine your authority. He will cause people to accuse you wrongly. He will water down your efforts so that you lose your sharp edge and you become mundane. He will try to remove your influence. And how does he do this? Is it through some seismic event in your life? Not necessarily. It could simply be the annoyance of a slave girl shouting the truth of what you are doing.  But the persistence and the pursuit of this slave girl was for the intention of slowing the team down and ultimately shutting them up.

On first reading and in isolation this verse looks okay. The enemy of your life likes to look inconspicuous. He doesn’t want you to notice anything is wrong but he is in hot pursuit of you and is persistently wearing you down.

You are going to have to deal with him if you are going to succeed in this life.

Who owns you?

Acts 16:16

“Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.”

 

The second person the team are recorded as encountering is a woman.

She obviously had a name but her behaviour so overwhelmed her life and that of others that she was simply referred to as a female slave.

Literally Luke wrote she had a ‘pythia spirit’ which we know as ‘python’. This was steeped in their mythology and centred on a priestess serving and becoming the mouthpiece of Apollo who was the guardian of the underworld. This python spirit was known for fortune telling with an ecstatic guttural sound and perhaps that is the picture we have of this girl.

She was owned by this demonic spirit. Luke, the doctor, whose learned mind had studied medicine and was qualified to treat people who were ill, now describes something outside of physical illness, that of the spiritual. In the western culture the Church has been rocked to sleep with the fact of demonic spirits owning people. But the African Church especially know this as a daily occurrence and they also know that for a person to truly come to Christ there has to be a battle with the evil spirits. The western Church needs to wake up. The demonic want to and do own people. People do become slaves like this girl.

She was owned by other people. They were becoming rich because she was very good at what she did. People’s lives were being impacted by the accuracy of her fortune-telling. Just because it is accurate doesn’t mean it is right. Again in my culture I know of many Christians who have battled in understanding those who predict and specialise in the supernatural when it can be proven they are accurate. Of course a lot of it is clever deception and manipulation but there are many who follow the evil spirits to gain comfort in some way.

Sadly the girl was owned by the evil spirit and by people.

“Don’t let anyone own you” is not my message this morning.

You see today we are owned by Christ. Jesus has taken up residence in our lives. Paul would write in Galatians 2:20 that Christ lives in me! I own my house and I rearrange the furniture and I paint my house how I want it. Christ is in you and is rearranging and reordering your life. He does this because He owns you.

You are His slave. Amen.