An Invitation Requires Truth
Acts 16:25-34
Invitations, Part 6
Introduction
- It is important that you and I understand the power of an invitation
-- Whether it’s an invitation to a ballgame, to a BBQ, or even to church
-- Everything we do starts with an invitation to be a part of something else
- Inviting someone to be a part of what you’re doing says several things to them:
1) What you have going on is important
2) What you are a part of is enjoyable to you, and,
3) What you do is worth their time to check out (at least once)
- Contrast: If we won’t invite others, what does that say about what we do?
- Background for our message: Paul and Silas are in prison … Why? (v17-24)
-- A slave girl filled with a spirit a divination continued to pester them for days
-- Her spirit allowed her to tell fortunes, and when removed her owners were angry
-- So they brought Paul and Silas before the magistrate, who had them beaten
-- They were ordered to be locked up and put away for these actions
- Read Acts 16:25-34
- Pray
∆ Point 1 – Even Prisoners can Worship
- If you’ve ever read the book of Acts, this story has always struck me as unusual
-- Not unusual because God showed up (it is the bible after all)
-- Unusual because people read it casually, but still miss God’s invitation
- Prison during this time period was not a welcome or comfortable
∆ Prison Photo 1 (Mamertime)
- Prison would be no more than a chamber to hold the worst criminals in
-- It would be dark, damp, and literally cast away from all persons
-- In prison, you could easily be forgotten about
∆ Prison Photo 2 (Mamertime)
- Both of these images are from an actual prison where Paul was held
-- Today they look cleaned up, well lit, almost ordered sort of holding cell
-- But, these prisons were anything of the sort, they were horrible
-- Knee deep sewage, cold, restrained in chains against a wall; over-crowded
-- They were just the type of place where you knew hope was lost for you
∆ Point 1 – Even Prisoners can Worship
- Yet, notice what’s happening in our story (v25)
-- APP: You have really got to love something/someone to be praising at midnight
-- Even the other prisoners are awake and listening to them also
-- I’ve often wondered … were they shouting at them to shut up? It’s midnight!
- However, when you can testify to how great God is, how can you stay silent?
-- How can you not praise his name for all that He has done for you?
-- Yes … even in prison, the name of the Lord can and must be praised!
- This public praise, this rejoicing and worship leads to something amazing (v26)
-- God, shows up! The doors fall off, the earth shakes, the foundation is rocked
-- IMP: Even in the darkest places, God hears our worship service if we will …
- I’ve often wondered how hard you have to praise for God to descend like this
-- I don’t think it’s a matter of volume, or style … but of sincerity
-- When God’s people cry out to Him, His response is always to show up
- TRANS: The jailer wakes up, comes running, and realizes his head is on the line
-- When your profession is a jailer, you have one job: keep bad people in jail
-- To let them out would be to fail your job; which could lead to instant death
∆ Point 2 – All is NOT Lost
- See how the jailer’s first thought is to draw his sword and end his life? (v27)
-- Does not give consideration to his family (discussed shortly), but only to himself
-- This is the worst case of self-preservation mode I’ve ever really seen
-- APP: “Uh-oh, I’m in trouble … well, let’s just end it all now”
- Paul’s plea to him is not only redemptive, but also restorative … how so? (v28)
- First: “Don’t harm yourself”
-- Nothing says I have no hope left than to end one’s life
-- Even in the darkest times, with Christ, we still have hope of a future
-- Paul knows this and proclaims to him that there is no need to take his life
-- Why? 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
- Second: “We are all here”
-- “There is no reason to kill yourself, we have not run away – all is not lost!”
-- In Christ, there is a redemption that we can all have which brings peace
-- Paul crying out to him is an invitation that he should be relieved
- The realization that all is not lost, changes something in his heart
-- I’ve often wondered what it would be know this man, to know his story
- RE: Jailers were sadistic and cruel individuals; specifically hired for this job
-- Consider those who beat and tortured Christ: Obvious they enjoyed their job
- Conceivably he worked horrible hours; we know he dealt with the worst people
-- Maybe he never really got to see his family, or take them on a vacation trip
-- Perhaps his greatest sorrow was having to dwell in this dungeon as well
- But upon his realization that NO ONE had left (RE: there are other prisoners too)
-- His heart, I’m certain, leaps for joy – his relief had to have been remarkable here
-- But, does he know what that really means?
- TRANS: Does he know that all is truly not lost?
-- His actions in v29 and his question in v30 certainly bring changed heart to light
∆ Point 3 – An Invitation Requires One Thing
- His heart, having certainly listened to the hymns and songs, asks one question
-- “Sirs (odd sign of respect for prisoners), what must I do to be saved? (teach me)”
- Don’t miss the invitation here – it’s critical that you and I understand this
- IMP: The invitation is not his question, but in the response that Paul gives
- v31 is the answer to the question, “Believe in the Lord Jesus”
- v32 is the application of the answer, “They spoke the word of the Lord to Him”
- First they answered his question (here’s what you have to do)
- Then, they followed through by teaching them exactly what Jesus said
- HUGE: Both require same thing: Inviting others means telling them the truth
- We know from the text that this is how a man and his family’s lives are changed
-- Not only did they accept Christ, but the jailer even took care of Paul and Silas
-- He washed their wounds (he became their servant) and they were all baptized
- TRANS: But, what’s the real world application for us to see in this changed life?
-- Why is a story about a jailer’s salvation important for us to know?
-- Luke 15:10: “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
∆ Big Idea
- If we are not willing to tell others the truth, how can we ever invite them?
-- IMP: Knowing and serving Christ has nothing to do with your popularity
-- It has everything to do with demonstrating to others who you serve and why
- I’m often asked why I believe my faith in Christ is the right one to have
-- All I can tell them is what God has done for me, what His word promises me
- Paul and Silas did the very same thing: they willingly spoke/taught the truth
-- Your friends and family are asking the very same question today
-- Albeit, it may not be in the same words, but they are looking for answers
- “What must I do to be saved?” … will you invite them to know what you know?
- Pray
