Songs and Salvation at Midnight
Joe Alain
Acts 16:25-34
Outline:
1. The Earth Quaked (16:26)
2. The Jailer Trembled (16:27-30)
3. The Christians Loved (16:31-32)
On April 25, 2015 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal tragically killing over 8,000 people. And then just last Tuesday another earthquake hit the recovering nation near Mount Everest killing at least 42 people. In these earthquakes, especially in poorer nations, buildings and entire villages and cities are often leveled, they are no match for the shaking of the ground. And unfortunately, many lives in these nations are lost. In Acts 16, there is the record of a great earthquake in the city of Philippi, but fortunately no lives were lost and the main thing that was destroyed was unbelief. The earthquake broke up the hardness of the heart and instead of lives being lost, lives were saved.
The theme of ''salvation, rescue'' runs through this passage; first, the rescue of Paul and Silas who have been imprisoned for preaching the Gospel, and second, the salvation of the jailer and his family from their sins. They were converted to Christ after they witnessed the power of God both in nature and more importantly in the living testimonies of God's people who were praying, praising and preaching the truth about God. Even in prison in a hopeless and forgotten place God was at work, He was interested in saving people. The Gospel knows no boundaries, prison bars cannot keep God from working.
I've learned that there are prisons in the ''free'' world that are just as real and hopeless as a prison. You might not be behind prison bars today but your prison is just as real and hopeless. It's just as fearful, just as debilitating. It might be a prison of fear, of disappointment, of sin, of addiction, of lust, of despair, of depression. Know that God is at work even in your prison and he wants to set you free. Let's see what God can do in our lives when he does set us free.
The Background (16:16-24)
...
Joe Alain
Acts 16:25-34
Outline:
1. The Earth Quaked (16:26)
2. The Jailer Trembled (16:27-30)
3. The Christians Loved (16:31-32)
On April 25, 2015 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal tragically killing over 8,000 people. And then just last Tuesday another earthquake hit the recovering nation near Mount Everest killing at least 42 people. In these earthquakes, especially in poorer nations, buildings and entire villages and cities are often leveled, they are no match for the shaking of the ground. And unfortunately, many lives in these nations are lost. In Acts 16, there is the record of a great earthquake in the city of Philippi, but fortunately no lives were lost and the main thing that was destroyed was unbelief. The earthquake broke up the hardness of the heart and instead of lives being lost, lives were saved.
The theme of ''salvation, rescue'' runs through this passage; first, the rescue of Paul and Silas who have been imprisoned for preaching the Gospel, and second, the salvation of the jailer and his family from their sins. They were converted to Christ after they witnessed the power of God both in nature and more importantly in the living testimonies of God's people who were praying, praising and preaching the truth about God. Even in prison in a hopeless and forgotten place God was at work, He was interested in saving people. The Gospel knows no boundaries, prison bars cannot keep God from working.
I've learned that there are prisons in the ''free'' world that are just as real and hopeless as a prison. You might not be behind prison bars today but your prison is just as real and hopeless. It's just as fearful, just as debilitating. It might be a prison of fear, of disappointment, of sin, of addiction, of lust, of despair, of depression. Know that God is at work even in your prison and he wants to set you free. Let's see what God can do in our lives when he does set us free.
The Background (16:16-24)
...
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