August 17, 2014
Scripture:
Ministry:
Read Zachariah 13:6. We have had thoughts of the sufferings of the Saviour. In Psalm 22 we read, “they pierced my hands and my feet.” They put nails in His hands and feet to hang Him on the cross. Read Isaiah 49:16. The soldiers didn’t know that the nails did little to hold Him there: it was the love that held Him there. Read Psalm 118:27b. He was bound with cords of love. We sometimes sing, “Love bound thee to the alter, the Father’s love and Thine.” We can think about what really kept Him there, and realize He still had the tokens of His love: they pierced His hands and His feet.
Hymn 352 – Oh won’t you come to Jesus while you’re young
Prayer
There was once a man who lived in a caravan. His caravan was a covered wagon, drawn by horses. This man called himself a caravan-gelist. He traveled in his caravan from village to village, preaching the gospel. One day, this man put a sign on his caravan that said, “BAD BOYS’ TEA 6:30 TODAY.” The boys in the town talked about this. One boy said that he wasn’t going to go, because he didn’t want to admit to being bad; another said that he wasn’t going because he was good, and another said that he was going to go because he had been bad at school. Well, thirty-seven boys ended up going to the Bad Boys’ Tea. The evangelist told them that they were all exactly the type of people that Jesus came to save. Jesus came to save those who are lost. After the tea, the boys went into the village. They told the girls that there would be a good girls’ tea the next day at the same time, but they needed to bring their own tea cups. The girls were disappointed when they found out that there wasn’t really a good girls’ tea. Everyone who thinks that they are good enough to get to heaven will be disappointed: no one is good enough.
Luke 18:9-14
Jesus told this parable to those who thought they were righteous. It is about two men who went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee: he thought he was good. There was also a Publican, or tax collector. The Pharisee despised the Publican and thought that he was better. They went into the temple and prayed. The Pharisee wasn’t very humble. He said “I” five times in his prayer. On the other hand, the publican didn’t think that he was very good. He was going into the presence of God and didn’t feel very worthy, so he stood afar off and didn’t even raise his eyes. He didn’t feel that he merited anything from God. The Pharisee thanked God that he wasn’t like the Publican and boasted of what he had done. He felt that he merited God’s blessing. But no one can merit God’s favour; it is a gift.
Jesus said that the Publican went to his house justified; but the Pharisee left, missing out on God’s blessing. From this parable we learn that God’s gift is for bad boys and bad girls.
Acts 16:16-40
Last week we read about Paul having the Macedonian dream, his trip to Macedonia, how he spoke to the praying women, and Lydia’s salvation. This week we have a damsel possessed with a devil; a girl who brought her masters a lot of money by soothsaying. Instead of opposing the gospel, Satan decided to come as an angel of light this time. He had this damsel follow Paul and the others crying out, “These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.” (V.17). She was approving Paul and telling the truth, but it was coming from a servant of Satan and that would in no way help Paul’s testimony. He bore with it for a while, but it grieved him.
There is always a battle going on between God and Satan. God had begun to take ground in the region of Macedonia, and so Satan was there to oppose that. He started off with a subtle tactic, but we can’t use the world’s ways to do God’s work. Finally, Paul cast the demon out of this women. It must have been a relief to her, but it was a loss in gain for her masters.
These masters naturally weren’t happy at this loss of income, so they caught Paul and Silas, brought them before the magistrates and falsely accused them. The magistrates commanded Paul and Silas to be beaten, and—after many stripes—they were thrust by the jailer into the inner prison.
We may have expected Paul and Silas to be feeling sorry for themselves, but if we had been outside that jail that night we would have heard them singing hymns! Verse 25 tells us that the other prisoners heard them. Paul and Silas knew that God had a plan for them, and that He would work things out for His reasons.
Well, God didn’t keep still that night. At midnight He sent an earthquake that opened all the jail doors, and even shook the fetters off the prisoners’ hands. This woke the jailer, and he saw that the jail was open. He thought that all the prisoners had escaped, and—as jailer—punishment for letting prisoners escape was death. So he decided to commit suicide. Paul saw this and called out, “Don’t hurt yourself, we’re all here!” Then the jailer called for a light, brought Paul and Silas out of the jail, and asked them, “What must I do to be saved?” It would be so nice to be asked that; we don’t hear it enough! Paul gave one of the clearest answers: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” (V.31)
Paul didn’t end there, though; he added three more words: “and thy house”. First we had Lydia’s household being baptized, and now the jailer’s. God is concerned about households. The story is told of a man who used to pray this verse. He would pray with his finger on the page, claiming the verse has he petitioned for his family. Eventually, there was a hole in the man’s Bible where he had placed his finger for so many years. God is interested in households, and Paul spoke to all the members of the jailers.
You would feel that a jailer would be a rough, tough fellow; yet this man was so changed by the gospel that he took Paul and Silas and washed their wounds! It’s beautiful to see.
So Satan was disappointed! He tried to water down the message of the gospel with a possessed women, and—once that demon was cast out—he came on like a roaring lion and landed Paul and Silas in prison. All his plans were refuted, though, and in the end the jailer was saved!
Hymn 333 – Come to the Saviour, make no delay
Prayer