PT-1 "Intro to Acts 16:19-40

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/22/2018 5:05 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-1 Intro to Acts 16:19-40

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 16:19-40

            Message of the verses:  “19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities, 20 and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, "These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, 21 and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans." 22 The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. 23 When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; 24 and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.   25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26 and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. 27 When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!" 29 And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 and after he brought them out, he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. 33 And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. 34 And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household. 35 Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, "Release those men." 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, "The chief magistrates have sent to release you. Therefore come out now and go in peace." 37 But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out." 38 The policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, 39 and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept begging them to leave the city. 40 They went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.”

            John MacArthur entitles this chapter in his commentary “Turning Persecution into Production.”  As we read through this section we can understand why he chose this name for this chapter as there is unwarranted persecution found, and yet we also see production as we read towards the end of this 16^th chapter of Acts. 

            As I look at these verses it reminds me of what Paul wrote to the Romans in chapter eight and verse twenty-eight:  “28  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  John MacArthur writes “A very reassuring aspect of God’s sovereign rule over the universe is His ability to bring good results out of bad circumstances.  That is especially true when His people undergo persecution.” 

            I now want to quote Genesis 45:5-8 “5  "Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 “For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. 8 “Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”  This passage speaks of how the bad thing that happened to Joseph was turned into a good thing for the children of Jacob, God causing something seemingly bad to be worked out for good and for His glory.

            We will look now at what is the most heinous crime ever committed and that was the murder of God’s Son, and yet out of that evil act God brought salvation.  Peter speaks of this in his sermon that we looked at very early in our study of Acts.  “22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know- 23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. 24 “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”

            We will continue to look at other examples in our next SD from this section of verse.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “In Shunem” (2 Kings 4:8-10).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who was the sister of Moses?”

Answer in our next SD.

4/22/2018 5:27 PM