Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Welcome to the Karma Charge podcast.
[00:00:05] Do you know, sometimes you can do everything right and get the wrong outcome?
[00:00:15] Say that again. Sometimes you can do everything right and get the wrong outcome. Have you ever experienced that? Feel like you've done everything you should do, but your circumstances match?
[00:00:29] That's the story today. So Find Acts, Chapter 16 if you've got your Bibles.
[00:00:39] This is a story of Paul and Silas casting a demon out of a.
[00:00:45] Out of a girl, but it ends them up in prison. And I think what I want to say to you today is that just because you feel like you got the wrong outcome, don't mistake that for God not having a plan.
[00:01:06] Don't mistake that for God not working his will in your life and other people's life to lead you into his victory. So this is the story we're going to read. So why don't you stand? This is the word of God. We're going to read together and we're going to read from. So it's chapter 16 of Acts, verse 16.
[00:01:24] Now, it happened as we went to prayer that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination, met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune telling. This girl followed Paul and us and cried out, saying, these are men and are servants of the most High, who proclaim to us the way of salvation. And she did this for many days.
[00:01:49] But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out that very hour. But when her masters saw that their hope for profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
[00:02:09] And they brought them to the magistrates and said, these men, being Jews, exceed these. Sorry. These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city. And they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe. Then the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them in the prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in stocks. That's the wrong outcome, okay, but look what happens. But at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awakened from sleep. And seeing the prison Doors open. Supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, do yourself no harm, for we are all here. Then he called for a light and ran in and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? So they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household. Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of that night and washed their strip. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now, when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them. And he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household. Amen. Take a seat.
[00:04:09] So, really simple, simple message this morning. Three points. Because all good talks should have three points. I remember my early Christian days.
[00:04:24] Firstly, the demons often know more than we know of what God is doing. Number two, just because you're in prison doesn't stop the Lord.
[00:04:36] And number three, praise and thanksgiving opens every door.
[00:04:42] So the demons know.
[00:04:45] A few weeks ago, I said, your brother is never your enemy. The enemy is the enemy. And since the fall, the devil has been stealing, killing, and destroying what God wants to do in people's lives. Yet Paul says we are not ignorant of his schemes. We know how he works. And he also says in Romans 16:20, the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet.
[00:05:14] So this slave girl is causing a distraction. She's not saying anything wrong, but everything she's saying is true. These men are telling all the people how they can be saved. But what's going on is there's a distraction from the presence and the message because she's causing a scene.
[00:05:33] And often demons, what they'll do is try and cause a distraction to take your attention off God or off where he's leading you and try and lead you up a rabbit trail, you know? So, for instance, what would that look like? How would demons try and distract us? Well, I mean, we're in church worshiping. We should be safe here, right? But you're caught up in worship, and suddenly there's that whisper in your voice. You know, you don't fit in here.
[00:06:07] You don't know enough people. Nobody's even spoken to you today. Have you ever heard that whisper in your ear? I have. I have. Or what about this one? You need to be fed more. You need the meat of the word.
[00:06:24] Let me tell you the meat of the word. This is doing it, not hearing it. Okay? So the meat is when we do it. Jesus says, my food is to do my Father's will. So that. So the meat is when you hear something, you go and do it. And so what Paul does is when there's this distraction, he turns the light on and he commands the demon in the name of Jesus to come out of her, which causes all sorts of problems. But really what he's saying is, devil, shut your face.
[00:07:00] Stop it.
[00:07:01] Stop doing what you're doing.
[00:07:05] And I would say to you, look, when you hear those whispers, you say, be silent. Shut your face. But you also understand that if he's saying it to you, he's saying it to others.
[00:07:20] So I'm going to turn the lights on and I'm going to look around in case there's anyone that's heard that whisper, as I've heard, and I'm going to go and talk to them, and I'm going to disarm the devil because I know his schemes.
[00:07:35] You know, guys, the devil will sometimes try to. I'm talking to the guys because I am one, okay? When the girls are up here, they can talk to the girls. But, you know, beautiful young girls talking with you and flirting with you a bit, and you're getting all, oh, I am still handsome, you know, and then you kind of. And there's a sense the enemy trying to pull you away. What would be. But, but if you're married, look, if you're single, flirt away. That's fine. But if you're not, you're never going to get. You're never going to get a husband if you don't flirt. But if you're married, but if you're married and you don't enjoy the flirting, you say, hey, Juliet, where are you? I think this girl is flirting with me. I go, you know, some of you, some of you girls, if you see someone flirting with your husband, you'll be over there. That is my man. You keep your grubby hands off him.
[00:08:41] And you go, oh, well, we shouldn't. I mean, that feels a bit harsh.
[00:08:47] But you see, we're not meant to stroke demons.
[00:08:51] We're meant to cast them out and turn the lights on because we want to walk in the light. When I was a youth worker, many, many years ago, I remember one night we used to do this group, teenagers. There was about 50 or 60 teenagers there. And one night, this girl manifests a demon. And you go, well, how do you know it was a demon? Well, she was growling and trying to bite Me and I thought, you don't really need discernment for that. And she's literally grinding her teeth.
[00:09:27] So we prayed for her and cast the demon out. And she was so excited. She says, I feel so different. I feel free. I'm going to go home and tell my mom. And we're thinking, oh, I'm not sure that's a good idea. But I can't tell you not to tell your mum because her mom was one of the leaders of the church.
[00:09:46] Okay? So sure enough, she went and said, mom, I went to youth group and they cast the demon out of me. Phones ringing downstairs what are you doing telling my daughter she's got a demon?
[00:09:58] I didn't say anything. She figured it out for herself, okay. I think it was the biting that did it. Okay. And so she was really cross. Anyway, next morning we have prayer meeting.
[00:10:11] And so 7:00 in the morning, we're at the front of the church. There's only about 12 people there, probably because it was 7:00 in the morning. And we do prayer meeting at 7:30 in the evening. We get a lot more people there. But anyway, these were the olden days. And so we were at 7 o'clock in the morning, there was about 12 of us. And the minister of the church was there and the youth worker and this woman's there, the mother is there and she's not happy. And I don't know if he picked up on the vibes. And he says, I just think we all need to hold hands and pray. And I'm going, oh, she's not. And I'm sitting next to her. She's not going to want to hold hands with me anyway. She had to. Because he said, so everyone, we're holding hands and we're praying. And as I'm holding her hand, I can feel power in my hands. My hand just starts like buzzing. It's like it's got electricity in it. And she starts manifesting a demon. And she's like, she's like shaking. She falls on her knees and she's fighting. She's like doing what? The daughter's going.
[00:11:13] And I'm like. I'm looking at the minister going, I didn't touch her.
[00:11:17] Honestly, this is not me.
[00:11:21] You prayed a prayer, Lord, this is not fair.
[00:11:25] But the thing is, the leaders of the church got really cross and they got cross with me, not her. And so it was the start of the journey of me being asked to leave the church.
[00:11:44] What I would say to you is, do you know what some Churches prefer demons over the Holy Spirit.
[00:11:53] What I want to say is that Jesus is turning the lights on in his church. And look, when Paul deals with the demon, he switches the lights on. And not everyone likes it.
[00:12:12] But once the lights are on, they have no power.
[00:12:20] Demons sometimes. No more. Number two, just because you're in prison doesn't stop the Holy Spirit. So the result is Paul and Silas are severely beaten and thrown in prison. And Luke, who writes Acts, makes a point to this. This was a good beating that they received. Why? Because they turned the lights on. And we're not meant to be friends with the world. The Holy Spirit comes to convict the world of sin. We're called to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, which calls men and women to repent, to change direction, and they don't all like it.
[00:13:01] Now hear me. I don't think I'm necessarily called to be on the street corners yelling at people, telling them they're going to burn in hell and they're miserable sinners. The gospel is good news for God so loved the world that he sent his Son. But I want you to notice something in this story.
[00:13:19] This woman is in the prayer meeting.
[00:13:22] They're going to pray.
[00:13:25] She's coming to the prayer meeting. And Peter says this. He says, for it is time for judgment to begin with God's household.
[00:13:33] You see, if you want to see revival in this land, we must turn the lights on in the church. We must be clear what is the doctrine of demons and what are the ways of God?
[00:13:47] And my prayer is, O Lord, first will you convert the church? Then will you convert the world? The church? We have to be converted to Jesus.
[00:13:59] We need to understand that we must come to him, into his presence.
[00:14:06] And you know, as I look around the room, there are many of you who are here because you loved the Holy Spirit and stood up in churches and they did not like your message.
[00:14:17] People spoke badly about you. They shunned your children and they laid many stripes upon you and you felt your world was falling apart.
[00:14:29] Some of you are fearful that if you stand up for your Christian faith at work, you'll be passed over for promotion. Some of you have been passed over for promotion because you're a Christian and you stand for Christian principles. Some of you are not sure if you're able to say the man is a man and a woman is a woman. I mean, who would have thought that some teachers, you're not willing to say that a 6 year old could be bisexual.
[00:15:03] And just like Paul, you let it go for many days.
[00:15:07] But There comes a point where you have to say, this is demonic.
[00:15:12] Okay, this is demonic. It is the doctrine of demons.
[00:15:18] But I want you to know the giant is awakening the church. God's people are awakening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
[00:15:29] You see, why do you think each week we declare jobs and better jobs, blessings at work, raises and bonuses, sales and commissions just for the fun of it. No. We are aliens in this world. And if we are to live and hold on to our Christian values, we need the favor and the wisdom of God to navigate our journey.
[00:15:53] Jesus said, you're to be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. But sometimes you might end up in prison. You might end up rejected, you might end up unemployed, or you might end up with your reputation in tatters, feel like your world is falling around you and that maybe God has somehow forgotten you. He's fallen off his throne. He's gone to sleep. That's not the case. James says this. And I don't know how helpful these verses are, but this is what James says. My brethren.
[00:16:28] Now, James isn't just talking to the guys. He's talking to the guys and the girls. Count it all, joy, when you fall into various trials. And that's not our immediate thought. Our immediate thought is, this isn't fair. Oh, no. But James says, count it all joy when your world comes crashing in, when you're misunderstood, when you're called a religious fanatic, a bigot, and you are imprisoned, either literally or metaphorically, because this is what Jesus meant by, pick up your cross and follow me.
[00:17:00] And in a minute, I'm going to invite you to give your life to Jesus. And I want you to understand that following Jesus, yes, your sin is forgiven. Yes, he comes and fills our life and inhabits our life, but he also calls us, Pick up your cross and walk with me wherever I lead you. And the answer is, yes, sir, wherever I go. I have a plan for your life.
[00:17:32] Number three.
[00:17:34] So we've done. Sometimes demons know no more. Just because you're in prison, just because things are wrong doesn't mean that God has left you. Finally, praise and thanksgiving opens every door.
[00:17:49] Verse 25. But at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. And the prisoners were listening to them. They could have been sucking their thumb. They could have been. This isn't fair. We've set a young girl free. We've been beaten unfairly.
[00:18:08] But they didn't. They're in prison singing hymns to God. And suddenly there was a great earthquake. So that the Foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately the doors were. All the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed.
[00:18:28] Look, when we worship and praise, the very earth shakes because we are acknowledging the goodness of God and the transcendence and the power of our God.
[00:18:47] And he hasn't been caught sleeping, he hasn't slipped off his throne. He knows exactly what he's doing. Friends, we are full of the light and praise. And Thanksgiving opens every single door. No one can take your joy away from you because he is in us. Your world may feel like it's collapsing. I've been there, I often visit there where it feels like everything's fall into bits. But in worship and praise and thanksgiving, we come into his presence.
[00:19:21] And when it feels like everything's shaken, it is the greatest privilege to suffer with Jesus, to take on some of the sufferings of Jesus that he suffered for us.
[00:19:36] And so we enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courts of praise, just as David said.
[00:19:43] And you might go, well, it's all well and good for you, it's easy here. But you don't know what I'm going back to.
[00:19:50] You don't know what it's like where I live in my workplace.
[00:19:55] It's too hard.
[00:19:57] There's one of our guys who has a Hindu background and he'd obviously been talking to people at work and a family, a Hindu family, were going through some difficult, difficult times. And the dad saw a video testimony about Jesus and so he started asking the question, can the God of the Bible really change our lives? And he knew that Deepak was a Christian, so he asked him at work and invited him over during Diwali a year ago. And so he went over and he explained the gospel to them and he gave them a Bible. And they ended up praying, the whole family praying and putting their trust in Jesus Christ. He switched the lights on for them.
[00:21:00] And as the weeks went on, the atmosphere in the house dramatically changed with the spiritual attacks stopping.
[00:21:10] And then they felt convicted by the Holy Spirit to read the Bible and start praying together as a family. Each night they started throwing away all their idols and the shrines.
[00:21:24] And as they tried to explain to their Hindu friends, they said, you don't understand. These idols have never done anything for us. But Jesus, Jesus, he's changed everything and gave us peace, spiritual freedom and joy which we never felt before.
[00:21:45] And a year later, this last Diwali, they told Deepak it was their one year birthday of being a Christian. And since then, the dad, who's a taxi driver has been telling all his customers about Jesus and praying for them. The power of Jesus in people's lives.
[00:22:04] You see, Rachel gets all the good stories because she works with all the people that have given their lives to Jesus on Tuesday night. And I don't always get to hear them, but I heard her share that two weeks ago in the evening. I went, I want that story. I want to tell you that. Because this is what God is doing in our midst. And you see, as they're worshiping, as this family worship, the enemy had to leave, as Paul and Silas worship in the prison, the very foundations are shaken and the doors fling open. And I want you to understand the reason we have this book and the reason we have the stories of Daniel, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, Jonah, is because when God's people endure hardship and push through with praise and worship, the very foundations of the world are shaken and nations are changed. That's the story of the Bible. Nebuchadnezzar, he was the maddest king of Babylon. He was completely cuckoo.
[00:23:06] This is what he writes. Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and men negotiate who sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. And they have frustrated the king's word and yielded their bodies that they should not serve nor worship any God except their own God. That's after he's thrown them into the burning furnace and he's looked into the furnace and seen one like the Son of God, Jesus, walking with them in the fire and called them out. Darius throws Daniel to the lions. This is what Darius says. Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you serve continually been able to deliver you from the lions?
[00:23:49] You bet he has. Daniel says, and I want to tell everybody this morning, this Jesus, this Jesus, who we worship, who we love, who we proclaim, this Jesus is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious grace without fault and with great joy. That is the promise of God. He will deliver you. He will deliver you from your sin. He'll deliver you from the attack of the enemy, the disappointments in life, the treachery of people around you into his glorious light. And that's my testimony, through praise and worship and the blood of the lamb.
[00:24:37] And I just want to finish with one thing. Then we're going to finish, because I want you to see this. In the midst of salvation, when the jailer gets saved and all his household gets saved, they wash Paul and Silas stripes where they've been beaten.
[00:24:56] And I want you to understand that in the presence of God, where salvation is manifested. The wounds that the enemy has inflicted upon you are washed and healed when salvation is released.
[00:25:13] And that's why many of you have actually moved here. Many people are up in and moving that have been beaten up by church and have literally felt their backs beaten because they're coming into a place of salvation. And as people are saved, their wounds, demons are washed and healed.
[00:25:38] What am I trying to say?
[00:25:41] Demons know what God is doing and they try to distract you. Don't get distracted. Stay on course with what God has said.
[00:25:52] Just because you're in prison, just because the outcome isn't what you expected, don't think God doesn't have a plan to redeem your life.
[00:26:07] Praise and thanksgiving opens every door and releases every chain. If you will give yourself in the midst of the trial to praise and thanksgiving, the very foundations of the prison will be shaken just like an earthquake and you will become free.
[00:26:29] And the work of salvation can rescue and heal the whole person and the whole household.
[00:26:37] Thanks for listening to the Chroma Charge Podcast. If you enjoyed this message, you can like and subscribe. You can also join us in person or online every Sunday at Cromer Church. For more information about us, including our ministries, events, worship and how to donate, visit our website at Croma Church.
