Overflow of Love
Acts 16:25-31
In Acts 16 Paul is on his third missionary journey. Paul traveled through Galatia and Phrygia and stopped overnight in Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Acts 16:9
The next day Paul and Silas and his companions sailed to the region of Macedonia and traveled to Philippi a Roman colony and leading city of Macedonia.
One day when they were going to a place of pray they were met by a female slave possessed with an evil spirit, who had the gift of fortune-telling and helped her owners amass a great fortune. She tormented Paul his companions shouting out: “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” Acts 16:17 - For several days she pestered Paul and his team. Paul turned to her and addressed the evil spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her.” At that moment the spirit left her.”
“When the 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.” Acts 16:19 - The owners bought them before the magistrates and charged them with advocating customs unlawful for the Romans to practice. The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be beaten with rods and thrown into prison.
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25
Paul and Silas could have complained, “We believed God called us to Macedonia and now here we are in prison. Why, did God allow this to happen?” They did complain or question their circumstance; they sang praises to God while they were in a prison cell with both legs fastened in stocks. They had expected open doors for ministry not opposition.
You know you are going to have a bad day when you wake up and when you sink your teeth into a breakfast stake and they stay there. You know it’s going to be a bad day when you call your answering service and they tell you it’s none of your business. You know it’s going to be a bad day when you horn gets stuck on the freeway as you’re following a large group of Hell’s Angels motorcycles. You know it’s going to be a bad day when your birthday cake collapses from the weight of your candles.
Paul and Silas overflowed with God’s love even when
I. Bruised and Beaten
When bruised and beaten for preaching and healing in Jesus’ name Paul and Silas didn’t complain and ask “Why?”
Chuck Swindoll in his book, Hope Again, tells the answer Dr. Bruce Waltke, his Hebrew professor, gave Chuck Swindoll when he asked his professor about some “whys” in his life. His professor answered: “Chuck, I’ve come to the place where I believe only on very rare occasions does God tell us why, so I’ve decided to stop asking.”
The prophet Habakkuk one of the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament asked a similar question in Habakkuk 1:1-4, That might be paraphrased this way: “Why is God silent when the world is being turned upside down? Doesn’t God care about our suffering and injustices?”
There are several ways people tend to respond to the “Whys” of life?
Unreal Optimism – is to ignore reality. These people become numb to pain and in every trial and pain say, “All is okay.” They have the attitude, “If anything good is going to happen, it will happen to me. I’m the greatest. Life is a bowl of cherries all you have to do is help yourself. Life is great. Life is grand. I have no problems and I have no pain. I never have a discouraging moment in my life.” I say that person needs to get a life.
Ultimate Pessimism - This person believes that pain and conflict are the only ways to experience growth. To the ultimate pessimist life is a nightmare. This person believes like the comedy actor, Roger Dangerfield, “Whatever bad is going to happen it will happen to me.”
Distorted view of God – This view leaves a person without hope. This view sees God as far off and out of touch with His creation. God created the universe and humanity and then deserted His creation to let it spin helplessly in space. If God has abandoned his creation then all we have to look forward to is living our life, dying and that’s the end.
Have you wondered where God is when life slams in on you like a wrecking ball knocking over a building? How do you deal with the silences of God?
If you are living as a Christ follower and are committed to doing God’s will you have this assurance: Whatever happens you have the promise of Romans 8:28 “For we know that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.”
In Acts chapter 5 the Apostles were preaching in Jerusalem and seeing many people believe in the Lord and healed of sicknesses. Verse 16, “Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.”
The high priest, Jewish leaders, and Sadducees were jealous of the apostles so they had the apostles arrested and put in jail. That night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and told the apostles to go stand in the temple courts and tell the people about the new life in Jesus.
The next day the Jewish leaders brought the apostles before the Sanhedrin and ordered them again to stop spreading the news about Jesus, his death and resurrection. The apostles were flogged and beaten and let go. (Acts 5:41-42), - “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.”
They rejoiced because they had been counted worthy of suffering for Jesus.
When you feel bruised and are bleeding remember that what you are going through is nothing compared to the suffering Jesus went through for you.
Paul and Silas believed that their mission to Macedonia included going to prison in Philippi. Though confined to a small prison cell and surrounded by guards with their legs secured in wooden stocks, they had songs in their heart. Their hearts overflowed with love.
II. Songs in the Night
Can you picture Paul and Silas being dragged into prison, a dark dungeon like cave? The heavy doors closed behind them and their hands and feet put in stocks so they could not move their hands or feet. The clotted blood from the beatings caused their entire bodies to throb with pain. The pain was so great they could not sleep.
What did they do? Did they spend the night moaning and questioning why God could allow them to be beaten and put in prison? No! Acts 16:25, “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”
At midnight God gave them songs in the night. They could sing even through they faces possible execution the next morning. They could sing because they had committed their lives into God’s hand. They knew that Jesus would see them through the darkest night. They had hope because their hope was in the risen Lord.
The scriptures don’t teach that God wants to make you happy. The scriptures clearly teach that God wants you to have the joy of the Lord in your heart and life.
If you ask the average American what their number one ambition in life is, they will probably answer, next to having money their number one ambition is to be happy.
Happiness depends on circumstances that go your way. Happiness comes from the word “hap” which means “luck” or “circumstance.” “I’m happy today because all my problems were solved.”
Joy goes much deeper than happiness or having happenings go your way. Joy is an attitude and a choice. Joy comes from within and not from without.
By an act of their will and commitment Paul and Silas chose to rejoice and sing unto the Lord. Even in the darkest night their lives overflowed with the love of God.
Like Paul and Silas we have joy because we have hope. Romans 5:1-2, Paul wrote: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”
As long as we live on planet earth we’ll have problems. Some problems are small and others are large and seem overwhelming. Joy is not the absence of pain and suffering, it is having the hope that God is always with us. Jesus promised that he would “never leave us or forsake us.”
Some problems depend on your perspective. This past week I read about a college student that sent a letter home to her parents from college.
Dear Mom and Dad,
I’m sorry to be so long in writing. Unfortunately, all my stationery was destroyed the night our dorm was set on fire by demonstrators. I’m out of the hospital now, and the doctors say my eyesight should return, sooner or later. The wonderful boy, Bill, who rescued me from the fire, kindly offered to share his little apartment with me until the dorm is rebuilt. He comes from a good family, so you won’t be surprised when I tell you we’re going to be married. In fact, since you’ve always wanted a grandchild, you’ll be glad to know that you’ll be grandparents next month.
P.S. Please disregard the above practice in English composition. There was no fire, I haven’t been in the hospital, I’m not pregnant, and I don’t even have a steady boyfriend. But I did get a D I French and an F in Chemistry, and I just wanted to be sure you received this news in the proper perspective.
Perspective does make a difference.
The Apostle Paul declares in Galatians 5:22, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy….”
To have a song in the night there are several things you can do.
1. Develop an attitude of gratitude. I Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” The psalmist sang out in Psalm 28:7, “My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.”
2. Cultivate joy by being a cheerful giver. Acts 20:35, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” 2 Corinthians 9:7, “God loves a cheerful giver.” Your checkbook is an indication of the level of your commitment to follow Jesus and cultivate the joy by being a cheerful giver.
3. Develop inner joy through service. Throughout His earthly ministry Jesus went about doing good deeds and serving others. The Apostle Paul carried on the tradition of Jesus during his three Missionary journeys. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:7-8, “Serve whole-heartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does.” The more you focus your life on others the more joy you have.
4. Joy comes when you share your conversion story with others. As Paul and Silas sang out the other prisoners were listening. When you share your story you don’t argue, talk down to people or preach. You simply share your story, what Jesus has done in your life and what Jesus means to you, and leave the results with God. In sharing your story let James 1:19 be your guide: “My brothers and sisters take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” (From Rick Warren, God’s Power to Change Your Life
III Allow God to Show Up
You overflow with love with you allow God to show up in your life. (Acts 16:26) “Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.”
Because Paul and Silas were walking closely with the Lord, during a crisis in their lives, God gave them songs in the night;. As they sang and praised the Lord, God showed up.
Acts 16:25, “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” Can you imagine the impact Paul and Silas had on the prisoners? About the only thing Paul and Silas could move was their mouths and with their mouths they sang songs of praise.
When all is going well and you are not facing death you can sing, but how can you sing when death is around the corner. The prisoners knew there was something different about Paul and Silas.
How do you respond in times of crisis? Do you have a song in your heart? When you overflow with love during times of crisis those around you know that your Christian faith is genuine
The story is told about a 7 year-old boy who fell into a deep excavation being dug for a New York subway. He was taken bruised and suffering to the nearest hospital. When the doctor began to examine his injuries the little boy took a deep breath and said, “I wish I could sing. I think I’d feel weller then:” “All right, you may sing,” the doctor said. The little boy began to sing as the doctor continued his examination. The boy winced a bit and continued to sing: “I’m so happy and here’s the reason why, Jesus took all my burdens away.” Several of the nurses and workers in the hospital heard the singing and came to hear the boy sing. Through all the pain of the examination the boy never lost a tune. Finally the doctor announced, “Well, I guess you’re all right, little man. I couldn’t find any broken bones.” The little boy looked up at the doctor and said, “I guess it was the singing that fixed me. I always sing when I feel bad.”
When God showed up in the jail in Philippi an earth quake didn’t shake down the prison walls but if did crack open the solid stocks, open all the prison doors and cause all the prisoners chains to fall off.
The jailer was probably thrown out of bed and when he saw all the prison doors open was about to kill himself when Paul cried out: “Don’t harm yourself, we are all here!”
The jail turned the lights on and fell down before Paul and Silas and led them out of the prison cell and asked: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Paul replied: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved –you and your household.” (Acts 16:31) The jailer and his household believed and were baptized.
When God’s love overflows in your life it has an impact on others. Everyday you can ask the Lord, “Show me today how to show your love to others through acts of kindness and words of encouragement.”
This week let’s overflow with God’s love. Whatever happens may we have songs in the night and allow God to show up.
(Sermon outline ideas from Outlflow by Steve Sjogren and Dave Ping
