TEXT: ACTS 16:16-34
TITLE: “WHO DO YOU SERVE?”
OPEN: A. A preacher meets an old friend from Bible college while at the North American Christian
Convention. The old friend asks the preacher, “How many members are in your congregation?”
The preacher responds, “We have 350 members.”
The old friend says, “Hey, that’s not bad. How many of your church members are active?” The
preacher says, “All of them.” The old friend says, “That’s great!” The preacher replies, “Not
really. You see, only about 20-30 of them are active for the Lord. The rest are active for the
devil.”
1. Mt. 6:24 – “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he
will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”
2. Back around the late 70’s or early 80’s, there was a contemporary Christian song called, Gotta
Serve Somebody
--listen to the first verse and the chorus:
You may be an ambassador to England or France,
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance,
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world,
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.
B. In our passage this evening, there are six different things that the people served
I. SERVANT OF THE OCCULT
--Acts 16:16-18 – “Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a
spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortunetelling.
This girl 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.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled 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.”
A. Here was a slave girl possessed by a spirit who could predict the future
1. “spirit of divination” – in Greek, spirit of “python”
--This “spirit of python” is closely tied to Greek mythology and what was known as the Delphi Oracle
2. The spirit of the snake is a reminder who is behind all the occult practices
--Back to Genesis 3 and the Garden of Eden
B. Anyone involved in the occult is in bondage
--they’re enslaved to its hideous illusions
1. “Occult” – “not revealed; hidden; of or relating to supernatural agencies, their effects, or knowledge of
them”
2. What constitutes occult practices?
--astrology, ouija boards, seances, tarot cards, fortune telling, sorcery and witchcraft, Satanism and
demon worship, etc.
3. Bible is very clear concerning these practices
--Stay away from them! God is not pleased with those who practice such things
a. Lev. 19:26b – “Do not practice divination or sorcery.”
b. Lev. 20:6 – “I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute
himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people.”
c. Deut. 18:9-14 – “When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate
the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or
daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or
casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things
is detestable to the LORD , and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive
out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the LORD your God. The nations you
will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God
has not permitted you to do so.”
d. Divination is always associated with witchcraft, sorcery, and other things that are clearly occult
practices
--The Bible clearly states that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God and
will be condemned to eternal punishment if they do not repent.
C. Could say a lot more on this subject but I’ll save it for another sermon.
--Let me just give a warning of the dangers involved in just dabbling with the occult let alone being fully
involved in it
1. Pandora’s box – in mythology, Pandora was created by the gods to tempt and curse Prometheus who
had crept into Olympus and stolen the fire of gods.
a. Pandora’s box contained all kinds of evil. When it was opened, it released all the evils in the world
– all the diseases and heartaches to which humans are susceptible.
b. When someone starts into something that’s very complicated and full of danger, we say, “Be careful!
You’re opening a Pandora’s box!”
2. Exactly what happens when someone is involved in the occult – even if they only “dabble” – because
innumerable dangers and troubles are headed their way.
II. SERVANTS OF GREED
--Acts 16:19-21 – “When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone,
they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought
them before the magistrates and said, ‘These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by
advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.’”
A. Her masters
1. Their main concern – their money machine was gone
2. Play on the words in original language
--when the spirit of divination “went out”, their change of making money “went out” with it
B. Be prepared!
1. Anytime you take a stand that threatens someone’s pocket book (no matter how illegal or immoral
their enterprises are), they will do anything to stop you
2. Abortion is a prime example
a. Abortion clinics are multi-million dollar operations
1). Abortionists are not concerned with the “rights of the mother” or the preservation of “choice”
2). It’s even more obvious they no concern whatsoever with the life of the baby.
3). Their only interest is in how much money they make from abortions – PERIOD.
b. Even though Planned Parenthood closed 11 clinics in FY 2004, the number of abortions they
performed the next year rose by 6.1 percent to 244,628.
1). Planned Parenthood’s FY 2004 annual report also revealed that the organization relied on
abortion more than ever, for 34 percent of its clinic income
2). It posted its 18th straight year of record total income ($180 million) and ended the period with a
net profit of $35.2 million.
C. Notice the tricks they used against Paul and Barnabas
1. Racial prejudice
--vs. 20 – “These men are Jews…”
a. Even in the 1st century, there was a prejudice and hatred toward the Jewish people
b. Racial prejudice and class envy are primary weapons of those who would convince the world to
operate under one philosophical/political system or another
2. Twisted the truth
-- “…advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice”
a. Secular humanists and hedonists want to convince people that evangelical Christians are hate-
mongers
b. They want people to believe that we are “control freaks” and that we are intolerant of any religious
or philosophical system that is not exactly like ours.
3. Waved the flag of patriotism
--“…our city…”
a. This is our town and these foreigners aren’t going to tell us what to do!
b. Be careful of people who wrap themselves in the flag
1). True patriotism is a noble and beautiful thing but there are a lot of people who use it for their
own benefit
2). True patriotism seeks the good of the many as opposed to the good of the few
III. SERVANTS OF HATE
--Acts 16:22a – “The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas…”
A. The crowd – the majority of those gathered
1. They allowed themselves to be manipulated by their own racial prejudices and hatred.
2. Mob mentality – we have to take our frustrations out on somebody!
B. Logic and discernment were abandoned
1. They accepted what the slave girl’s owners said because they wanted to do so.
-- A famous philosopher once said “Envy leads to jealousy, jealousy leads to hate, hate leads to
anger, anger leads to the dark side” The philosopher was Yoda from Star Wars, but no less true for
that.
2. It’s easy to run with the pack but the pack can just as easily turn on you.
3. Minirth and Meier, Love Is a Choice and it’s true
a. But hate is also a choice
b. There’s a song by Richar Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II, written in 1949 for the musical South
Pacific:
You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught from year to year,
It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear.
You’ve got to be carefully taught
You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade.
You’ve got to be carefully taught
You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You’ve got to be carefully taught
You’ve got to be carefully taught
IV. SERVANTS OF SELF
--Acts 16:22b-23 – “…the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely
flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.”
A. The magistrates
1. The elected leaders of the city
2. There to look out for the good of the city’s population
3. There to ensure justice and civility were followed
B. Weren’t interested in Paul and Silas’ side of the story
1. Their only concern was their public approval rating which would keep them in office
2. Their attitude: “I’m not losing my cushy position for two guys I don’t know and don’t really care
about.”
V. SERVANT OF THE STATE
--vs. 23 – “…the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.”
A. The jailer
1. Interested in doing a good job,
--vs. 24 shows he followed the magistrates’ orders to the letter – “Upon receiving such orders, he put
them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.”
2. Interested in being a good public servant
B. Yet there were some more selfish interests involved:
1. Wanted his position in the local government to be secure
2. He would follow the dictates of his government without considering the morality or justice/injustice of
the matter at hand.
VI. SERVANTS OF CHRIST
--Let’s finish our text and then go back and make some observations: Acts 16:25-34 – “About midnight
Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all
the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw
the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners
had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights,
rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must
I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your
household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in His house. At that hour
of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were
baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy
because he had come to believe in God–he and his whole family.”
A. The missionaries – Paul and Silas
--They showed who they served by what they said and what they did
1. Called “servants” by the slave girl in v. 17
--Greek construction signifies that she went about saying it over and over again!
2. They were concerned about her message
a. If she could connect her demonic activity the true servants of Christ, she would help herself and
take away from their testimony
b. Even though her statements were true, they were intended to harm and not help
1). Same kind of truth-telling when someone passes along gossip
--might be true but it’s intended to hurt
2). Kind of truth-telling children use on the school playground when they point out another child’s
oddness or differences.
--might be true but it’s intended to hurt
c. The name of God does not need promotion by a servant of Satan
1). Satan will speak truth one minute and turn around and tell a lie the next
2). If you go back to the garden of Eden, you’ll find the Devil doesn’t like the truth as much as he
likes half-truths.
3. They were concerned about her bondage
a. Paul, using the power and authority of Jesus, cast the demon out of this girl freeing her from her
spiritual bondage
b. Our job as Christians is to minister the freedom of Christ through His grace and mercy to those in
the bondage of sin.
B. They showed who they served through their public praise and testimony
--despite their circumstances
1. They were cast into prison
a. The Greek word for “cast” means “to throw something without regard to where or how it lands.”
b. There was no concern for Paul and Silas’ well-being
2. It then says that the jailer put them in the “inner prison”
--It’s a reference to the prison dungeon where it would have been damp, dark, dirty, and discouraging
3. Warren Wiersbe: “When you are in pain, the midnight hour is not the easiest time for a sacred
concert, but God gives ‘songs in the night.’”
a. Ps. 42:8 – “By day the LORD directs His love, at night His song is with me...”
b. Redeemed, Fanny Crosby and Wm. Kirkpatrick, 4th verse: “I know I shall see in His beauty, the
King in whose law I delight; who lovingly guardeth my footsteps and giveth me songs in the
night.”
c. C.H. Spurgeon: “Songs in the night come only from God; they are not in the power of men.”
4. Prayer and praise are powerful weapons
a. 2 Chron. 20:1-22 – We see that the Moabites and the Ammorites and a few others wanted to war
with Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast and all the people of Judah assembled together
to seek God’s help.
b. Jehoshaphat prayed to God and God sent his answer through a prophetic uttering by one of the
men there in the assembly
--He told them they wouldn’t have to fight. They were to put their trust in the LORD and take
up their positions just like they would if they were going to fight. God would take care of the
problem.
c. As the men of Judah left to get into battle positions, Jehoshaphat encouraged them by reminding
them of what God had told them.
--Listen to 2 Chron. 20:21-22 – “…Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to
praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
‘Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.’ As they began to sing and praise,
the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were
invading Judah, and they were defeated.”
C. Paul and Silas demonstrated who they served because they held no animosity towards the jailer
1. They stopped him from committing suicide
2. Taught him and his family how to become Christians
CLOSE: A. Who do you serve?
--the first five groups served Satan but Paul and Silas very demonstrably served Christ
B. Jesus talked about servants in Mt. 25
1. Parable of the Talents – Mt. 25:14-30
--not going to read it. We’ll just summarize this evening
2. Those who served well received a “well done, good and faithful servant – come and share
your master’s happiness
3. The one who served himself was called wicked and lazy and cast out of the master’s
household
C. John Henry Faber was a French naturalist who did some experimentation with processionary
caterpillars. Those little creatures were called processionary because they would follow the
caterpillar in front of them, no matter where that caterpillar was going.
Faber arranged each caterpillar in a circle, each one touching the caterpillar directly ahead.
Faithful to their nature, each caterpillar followed the next one.
Faber put some of the caterpillars’ favorite food in the middle so that they could eat. The food
was only three inches away but each caterpillar was too busy following the next caterpillar to eat.
They continued on in a circle until they collapsed and died from hunger.
1. Serving the devil will only lead you around in circles and live you for dead
2. Serving Christ will lead you to the bread and water of Life and give you life abundant and
eternal
