I noticed something new this morning in Acts 16. The story is very familiar. Paul and Silas enter a town in which a demonized fortune-teller tries to thwart the work of the Gospel. Paul commands the demon to leave the girl, and the men who own the the girl throw the town into an uproar over these unconventional Jews. The two are thrown in prison, but the Lord sends an earthquake to release the bonds. Paul and Silas are freed, but not before evangelizing the jailer and challenging the town authorities.
It's this last thing - how they challenged the town authorities - that strikes me. Think about it. Paul and Silas are in jail, but the Lord frees them. They stay there to minister to the jailer, who believes, and subsequently tells the men they can go. Do they go? NO! I wondered why not until the Lord showed me something pretty simple.
When attacked, the Lord never turns tail and runs. In the case of Paul and Silas, the attack wasn't really on the two ministers. After all, we don't fight against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers of darkness. What was going on behind the scenes was a showdown between God and the devil. The Holy Spirit's power released the fortune-teller from her demon, so the devil was mad. He used the evil men who owned the girl to attack God's servants, thinking he'd actually get to God in doing that. In response, God shook the place that was supposed to hold Paul and Silas captive, showing that He is still in ultimate control. For good measure, He even drew the jailer to Himself, showing the devil that God's love and power extends beyond His current servants. (In other words, He took one of the devil's former servants.) The devil was pretty sneaky when he gave opportunity for Paul and Silas to sneak out of the town by night. Again, God won the showdown. He made the town leaders (no doubt on the devil's side, since they so strongly opposed Christ's work) actually have to beg Paul and Silas to leave. They gave Paul and Silas respect and had to humble themselves. What we could never see with our eyes in that final exchange is that God essentially humbled the devil. The devil has no power to do anything to God or His servants of any lasting effect. The devil thinks he has the upper hand because he has a few politicians in his pocket. As usual, God undermined the devil then, and He'll do it today. Praise Him forever!!
2 comments:
I'll confess, I sometimes earmark your blog to read later because I know just about anything you've written will make me think. I'm glad I didn't today, though.
Oddly enough, this is almost exactly what I heard preached at church this morning, though from a different passage of Scripture. The message remains the same, though. I find that those kinds of "coincidences" usually have some greater significance.
As yet, I'm not sure what that significance is, but I'm sure God will continue to speak on it if it's important. Praise God that he repeats himself when necessary!
Just another reminder of how Scripture is inspired...
I taught my Sr. High Sunday School class from this passage this morning as well! Only the way we approached it was an example of an obstacle God allowed in Paul's path to later attain a greater good! Praise the Lord for inspiration and revelation!
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