SURESH JOEL: ABS UPDATE: Week 8 Day 6:
PAUL AND SILAS IN PRISON
This portion of Acts has always been my favourite and I was waiting for this day of study!
Acts 16:12-40:
1. Paul was annoyed by the evil spirit. Was he right being annoyed? He was getting free witness of who they actually were. It is amazing to see that Paul did not want anything from the Kingdom of darkness, even if it is seemingly helped the Kingdom of light. If Paul had put up with it, they could have continued to preach without any trouble.
2. The owners were angry when their money was gone. Till their profit was untouched, they did not mind Christ and His message.
3. If Paul hadn’t got annoyed, he would not have gone to prison, then the other prisoners and the jailer would not have known Christ.
4. Paul was willing to bear beatings with rods, being thrown in to the inner prison, feet shackled to stocks just to save the jailer.
5. At midnight, Paul & Silas were praying. They were not sleeping out of exhaustion and pain, not crying out to God for help but singing hymns and praising God. There was no doubt in their hearts about Gods goodness or His plan for them. They were assured that God is in control and were happy suffering, if that was what God allowed in their lives. Silas was not complaining – “Paul, if you had not got angry, we wouldn’t be in this mess”
6. The prisoners were listening to the singing. They must have thought these guys were crazy but they listened to the singing to a God by men who were half dead. What a testimony of their love for God and God’s love for them.
7. “ALL the doors were open and EVERYONE’S chains were unfastened” – when they praised God in that situation, not only did their chains break but everyone around also became free. What a blessing to everyone around when we praise God in trials; trust in His grace and perfect plan.
8. The joy of the jailer is so evident. At that very hour of the night, he took Paul and Silas home, washed their wounds, fed them and listened to them. He was so scared to kill himself when he thought all ran away but now that Christ was in His life, he took the prisoners home! If Paul had not suffered for a short time the beatings and the prison, if they had not praising and singing; this man would have lost his eternal joy.
9. Paul again seems to be unreasonably arrogant – he did not want to go away privately. He scared the magistrates by saying they were Romans. He could have said that the previous day but he endured the beatings. Why does he pull his “Roman” card now? They begged them to leave – contradict this to Antioch where they were begged to stay and teach. These people in Philippi deliberately did not want the truth and pushed these men away. How sad!
10. Paul encouraged the brethren. Who should have encouraged whom? A beaten, imprisoned, wounded brother who was begged to leave the city encouraged the church there.
What spirit do we have? Do we encourage or do we expect to be encouraged to carry on?