The Lord God is powerful, isn’t He, church? He can provide, He can bless, He can encourage, He can comfort, He can convict, and so much more.
We’re going to learn today that one of the acts that God can accomplish is that He can deliver.
Today’s sermon is entitled “The Power of God to Deliver.”
In today’s passage, we’re going to see how God delivers in three different ways in this passage. Let’s look go to God in prayer, then we’ll dive into this passage.
(prayer)
Ok, let’s see three different deliverances in this passage.
First, . . .
I. The deliverance of the girl.
What girl? Well, there’s a slave girl in this passage. Let’s see what happens.
Look at verses 16-18:
16 Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 As she followed Paul and us she cried out, “These men, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation, are the servants of the Most High God.” 18 She did this for many days.
Paul was greatly annoyed. Turning to the spirit, he said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out right away.
Ok, so we see Luke picking up the story by describing a time when the missionaries were on their way to pray.
(By the way, we see some parallels between today’s passage and last week’s passage. See if you can catch them all. The first is that the story begins with the missionaries going to pray).
As the missionaries are going to pray, they are being followed by a slave girl who has a spirit inside. This spirit has given her the supernatural ability to predict the future.
Predicting the future is quite a miraculous gift, so her owners have taken advantage of this moment to try and make some money off of her.
It’s worth noting here that it’s evil to take advantage of people for your own personal gain, as these owners did to this girl.
Well, this girl continued to follow the missionaries and cry out the same message for many days.
The girl said, “These men, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation, are the servants of the Most High God.” By the way, the girl’s message was true. These men were proclaiming salvation, and they were servants of the Most High God.
There may have been some confusion about the girl’s message because the hearers may have thought she was talking about a way of salvation other than Jesus, and they may have thought the Most High God she was referring to was actually Zeus.
We learned in verse 18 that Paul had enough, so he spoke to the spirit in the girl and said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!”
Sure enough, the girl was delivered from the power of that spirit over her life.
Luke says at the end of verse 18 that the spirit came out right away.
Listen, church: God can deliver us.
Evil spirits are very real, and some people are tormented by evil spirits in them or around them.
Not only might we be plagued by real evil spirits, but some of us are plagued by our own sin. We are slaves to our giving into temptation, our habits of sin, our outbursts of sin, and so much more.
I want you to hear me, church: Jesus can deliver you! Jesus can deliver you from evil and He can deliver you from sin.
We see the deliverance of the girl.
Next, we see . . .
II. The deliverance of the missionaries.
Let’s look at verses 19-26:
19 When her owners realized that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. 20 Bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews 21 and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice.”
22 The crowd joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates stripped off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 23 After they had severely flogged them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to guard them carefully. 24 Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose.
We see a problem arise, don’t we?
Paul’s annoyance led to the girl’s deliverance, which led to the owner’s violence.
They grabbed Paul and Silas and took them to the authorities.
Here’s the reality: they really weren’t breaking any laws. However, they were Jewish people from out of town, and they were not telling people to worship the Roman gods; they were telling them to worship the one true God.
What’s more, these men who owned the girl were now losing money.
The desire for money will lead us to do some evil things, won’t it?
Paul would say later in 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil . . . ” Perhaps he was thinking of this moment in Acts 16 when he wrote that.
So, we see several actions unfold after these men seize and accuse Paul and Silas:
First, the crowds turn against Paul and Silas. By the way, the same thing happened to Jesus.
Second, we see the officials pronounce an unjust punishment against them. By the way, the same thing happened to Jesus.
Third, we see that they are severely beaten. By the way, the same thing happened to Jesus.
Fourth, we see that they are imprisoned for some time. By the way, the same thing happened to Jesus.
Fifth, we see an earthquake is present after they endure suffering. By the way, the same thing happened to Jesus.
Sixth, we see they are rescued by the power of God. By the way, the same thing happened to Jesus.
Seventh, we see that one of the guards believed in the power of God. By the way, the same thing happened to Jesus.
That’s an amazing list of similarities between Jesus and the followers of Jesus, right?
So, we see that this earthquake takes place and shakes the very foundations of the jail, opens the doors, and loosens the chains of the prisoners.
What an amazing act of the power of God!
Church, we must understand that God can deliver us from any situation.
Sometimes, for whatever reason, God may choose not to deliver us from a situation, but He certainly can deliver us from anything. In this moment for Paul and Silas, God chose to deliver!
Notice also Paul and Silas’ attitude in the midst of the suffering.
They had no promise of deliverance. Yet, they were praying and singing hymns to God.
They had been arrested and beaten, yet they remained faithful.
They were suffering, yet they knew they were kept by the sovereign hand of God.
Whatever happened, Paul and Silas knew that God was with them.
Do you know, brothers and sisters, that God can deliver you from your suffering? He can deliver you from your sickness. He can deliver you from your broken relationships. He can deliver you from your poverty. He can deliver from anything.
Sometimes, God chooses not to deliver us.
From what we know of church history, all the apostles would be killed for following Jesus, except for John, who spent his final days exiled on an island.
One leading theory for Paul’s death is that he was beheaded in a Roman prison.
We’ve already learned of Stephen’s death in the earlier part of the Book of Acts.
Sometimes, God will deliver us from earthy difficulties immediately. Sometimes, he chooses not to do so.
However, there is a deliverance that is promised for all those who seek it. That is the final deliverance that we’ll learn about.
III. The deliverance of the jailer.
We’ll see that the jailer’s life is delivered, then we’ll see that his soul is delivered.
Look at verses 27-34:
27 When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Don’t harm yourself, because we’re all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He escorted them out and 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 along with everyone in his house. 33 He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized. 34 He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had come to believe in God with his entire household.
Notice first that he is delivered from death.
The jailer woke up and realized that the prisoners were all set free.
Remember, he was told to really watch over Paul and Silas, which is why they had them in the inner part of the prison, chained to the wall.
Yet, here they were, free from their chains with the doors open.
So, the jailer started to take his own life because that probably would seem better than what the Romans would do to him if his prisoners escaped.
However, Paul pointed out in verse 28 that all the prisoners were still there, and he should not harm himself.
That’s some pretty powerful deliverance, but something better is about to come.
In verse 30, the jailer asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
First of all, the man had good manners. He called them sirs. What’s more, he had good awareness. He realized something was different about these men. He needed what they had.
He needed the deliverance that led to a peace that surpasses all understanding. A peace that in a moment of suffering, you can actually start worshiping.
He needed access to the power that could set prisoners free.
He needed to be saved by the power of God!
So, Paul and Silas told him what he must do to be saved: Believe in the Lord Jesus.
Not only could he be saved, but his household could also be saved.
Verse 32 indicates that he and his whole household were able to hear Paul and Silas speak the word of the Lord to them.
Then, the jailer took care of Paul and Silas by washing their wounds. Then, again, as we see in Acts, after he and his household believed in Jesus, they were baptized.
Finally, they shared a meal together and rejoiced because God had changed their lives.
Notice the same pattern that we saw in last week’s passage with Lydia: The people are saved from their sins, they display their change through baptism, then they demonstrate their change through a new way of life.
Behold the powerful deliverance of God.
Let this bottom line summarize all that we are learning today:
Bottom Line: The power of God is able to deliver.
Church, there is nothing beyond the power of God. He is the ultimate deliverer:
He delivered Lot from the land of Sodom.
He delivered Noah and his family through the great flood.
He delivered Isaac from being sacrificed by his father, and He delivered Abraham from sacrificing his own son.
He delivered Joseph from the pit of slavery. He delivered Joseph’s family from starvation.
He delivered Moses from death as an infant child.
He delivered the children of Israel from Egyptian slavery.
He delivered Israel from starvation by providing manna.
He delivered Israel into the Promised Land.
He delivered Israel from their own sin during the time of the judges.
He delivered Israel from the failed kingship of Saul and gave them King David.
He delivered Israel from the weakness of human kings by promising a greater King to come.
He delivered the Jewish people from total extinction by preserving some from the horrific judgment they had earned because of their sin.
He delivered a remnant of His people to return back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
He delivered all humanity by sending Jesus the Messiah to die on the cross, rise from the dead, and offer forgiveness of sins.
He delivered the promised Holy Spirit to the Church, delivering them from the old way of things and empowering them for the age of the church.
He delivered Peter and John from prison.
He delivered Saul the persecutor from his sins.
He delivered the Ethiopian eunuch from his sins.
He delivered Jews and Gentiles from their sins.
He delivered Lydia from her sins.
He delivered Paul and Silas from prison.
He delivered the Philippian jailer from his sins.
He has delivered countless people from oppression, sickness, evil, addiction, sin, sorrow, bitterness, racism, greed, materialism, sexual promiscuity, sexual confusion, gender confusion, self-harm, self-hate, self-centeredness, and more.
Jesus is not done. He can deliver you, and He will one day return in glorious fashion to deliver His children from every trouble, every sorrow, and every sin. He will make all things new, and He will deliver us to our heavenly home where we will dwell with the Lord forever.
He is the ultimate deliverer.
Challenge yourself this week from the Word of God:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Identify your need for deliverance.
Some of you need to be delivered from your sins. You’re still in need of salvation. You must understand, as the jailer did, what you must do to be saved. Believe in the Lord Jesus and be saved.
Others, you may have something else from which you need deliverance. Call upon the name of the Lord God. Lift your request to Him, trust Him, and wait on Him.
Weekly Challenge #2 – Share the message of deliverance.
If someone were to ask you, “What must I do to be saved?” Would you be ready to answer?
What about those who don’t know to ask you? Are you able to share with them that they need to be saved?
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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