Scriptures; Psalm 97, John 17:20-26
Sermon Scripture; Acts 16:16-34
Message;
“Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk”
Psalm 97
(1) The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.
(2) Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
(3) Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side.
(4) His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles.
(5) The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.
(6) The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.
(7) All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols- worship him, all you gods!
(8) Zion hears and rejoices and the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments, O Lord .
(9) For you, O Lord, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
(10) Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
(11) Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.
(12) Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name.
John 17:20-26
Jesus Prays for All Believers
(20) “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, (21) that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (22) I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: (23) I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
(24) “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
(25) “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. (26) I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
Acts 16:16-34
Paul and Silas in Prison
(16)Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. (17) This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” (18) She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
(19) When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. (20) They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar (21) by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
(22) The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. (23) After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. (24) Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
(25) About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. (26) Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. (27) The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. (28) But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
(29) The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. (30) He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
(31) They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household.” (32) Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. (33) At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. (34) The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God–he and his whole family.
This is the word of God, for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
I thought it was appropriate to look at this prison story, with Memorial Day on our minds, remembering those who have given us freedom from oppression.
They “Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk”, just as Paul and Silas did in prison.
Paul and Silas are in Philippi where they have been savagely beaten and thrown into jail. This is not an unusual circumstance for these early disciples of our Lord. They knew what it was to face all kinds of adverse circumstances for their faith. But they learned to handle these circumstances in a magnificent way.
You and I can learn from how they dealt with this particular situation. I want you to notice three things that can help us when we find ourselves in adverse situations. I want you to notice their attitude, their actions and the impact they had on those who observed them. This passage of Scripture is life-changing.
Let’s begin with their attitude. Paul and Silas had delivered a slave girl from some kind of an evil spirit that had allowed her to operate as a fortune teller. We honestly don’t know what kind of spirit this was, but we do know that her owners had been making an income off of this girl’s strange gift.
We’re not told anything else about this slave girl but, I can almost imagine that after losing her ability to foretell the future this slave girl probably tried to appease her owners. To reassure them, to quiet their attitudes towards her, Paul and Silas.
Upset at what it happened I’m almost certain that the slave owners tested her ability to foretell the future. One of them probably came to her, to have their fortune told and it might’ve went something like this:
She studied the hand of her owner and said, “You will be poor and very unhappy until you are thirty-seven years old.”
The owner responded by questioning her, “Well, after that, what will happen? Will I be rich and happy?”
She probably responded by saying, “No, you’ll still be poor, but you’ll be used to it after that.”
I’m sure this didn’t help appease or quiet the owner’s attitude.
You see now, nobody cares if you go about doing Christian things, as long as it doesn’t interfere with their livelihood. Then they have a tendency to get quite testy.
So when the slave girl’s owners realized that they could no longer make money off of her, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. Then a mob gathered supporting the owners. At this sign of unrest, the not-so-courageous town magistrates ordered Paul and Silas to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. So he put them in an inner cell and fastened their feet in stocks.
Consider their situation, unfairly accused, stripped, beaten, severely flogged, thrown into jail, and now in chains. We learn that life in the early church wasn’t easy. So how do Paul and Silas respond to this adverse situation?
The writer of Acts tells us that about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
Can you imagine what kind of attitude, what kind of faith you would have to have to have been beaten and thrown into prison and then break out that evening in song? I don’t know about you, but I suspect that if that had been me, I would have been on my cot in a fetal position whining to God to rescue me. But not Paul and Silas. They were singing hymns.
I wish I could do that, don’t you? My life is much easier than theirs. Nevertheless my faith is much shakier. I worry like you do when sickness strikes or when someone I love is in distress. I look at the condition of our economy and I wonder with fear what lies ahead. Will we have the resources we need to make it to the end? I have to confess there are times when my fears and my doubts put me in chains.
Do you know what I’m talking about? Maybe you’ve had your own prison experience worry about a marriage that is falling apart, a teenager who’s fallen in with the wrong crowd, a job that has disappeared thanks to a weak economy. There are all kinds of prison experiences in this world. I don’t know what yours might be, an oppressive environment in your workplace, rising costs and diminishing assets?
In the middle of your prison experience, are you able to sing? Maybe you should. Experts tell us that people don’t smile because they feel good, they feel good because they smile. According to a study at Wake Forest University, singing aloud is one of those positive actions that can increase a feeling of well-being. So, when you are in prison, when you’re depressed, when it seems everything you try is a failure, when you are about to lose hope, force yourself to break out in a song, especially a song of hope and joy. See if it doesn’t make you feel better.
I doubt that this is why Paul and Silas were singing. They were such people of faith that their songs were probably a statement of their confidence in God. However, those songs were also a witness to the other prisoners. In fact the writer of Acts makes a point of telling us that the other prisoners were listening to them. Could that be one reason they were singing, as a witness?
Back to our story. Paul and Silas are singing hymns in a prison. That’s their attitude. “Suddenly,” says the writer of Acts, “there was such a violent earthquake it rocked the foundations of the prison. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.”
Notice that nowhere does the story say that God caused this earthquake. You and I may believe that God did cause this earthquake, after all it freed Paul and Silas. But the Bible doesn’t say that. The fact that the earthquake came just as Paul and Silas were singing may have been entirely coincidental. I mean earthquakes do happen all the time. That’s not important. What what is important is Paul and Silas’ actions when the earthquake occurs.
You see, our actions in adverse situations define who we are and where we are in our faith.
A story comes to mind about a farmer and how he was dealing with his adverse situations.
A farmer was sitting on the porch of his house when a stranger came by and asked, “How’s things?”
“Tolerable,” came the reply. He continued, “Two weeks ago a tornado came along and knocked down all the trees I would have had to chop down for this winter’s firewood. Then last week lightning struck the brush I had planned to burn to clear the fields for planting.”
The stranger responded, “That’s remarkable, what are you doing now?”
The farmer answered, “Waiting for an earthquake to come along and shake the taters out of the ground.”
The writer of Acts tells us that Paul and Silas didn’t try to escape. They didn’t try to run like you or I may have. Paul and Silas had a radical faith much like the farmer. They believed that God was with them regardless of their circumstances. They didn’t panic when the earthquake occurred. Neither did they take off running when the cell doors flew open.
Maybe they were concerned about the jailer. The jailer had been ordered to keep a close eye on them. They were his responsibility. If they escaped he was in serious trouble. This account tells us that with all the racket and commotion of the earthquake, the jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought his prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
Now this isn’t typical behavior for prisoners in jail. This is the behavior of people who have a radical faith, who are at peace with God. Sometimes we are prevented from improving our situation simply because we are in such a panic that it skews our thinking.
We’ve seen the lessons of how our attitudes and our actions in adverse situation reflect our faith to others, now let’s look at their impact on others.
In our scriptures were told the jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” At this, the jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
The jailer had seen their attitude in this adverse situation, he had seen their actions, the actions of men of integrity and great faith, and the jailer obviously said to himself, “Hey, I want what they’ve got!” This is evangelism in its purest form.
The jailer brought them out and asked them, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” But it wasn’t because they had knocked on his door in an evangelistic campaign. It wasn’t because the disciples had confronted him and asked, “If you were to die tonight, would you go to heaven?” It was because he saw that Paul and Silas not only talked the talk, they walked the walk. He could see by their attitudes and by their actions they were special people. They were God’s people. And he wanted to be one of God’s people too. So he cried out, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
Paul and Silas replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. And that very night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately, we’re told, he and all his family were baptized. Then the jailer brought Paul and Silas into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God, he and his whole family.
Notice the difference between Paul’s conversion and this jailer’s conversion. When Paul was converted there was a blinding light and Paul heard the very voice of Christ speaking to him. It was a dramatic and somewhat traumatic experience. This poor jailer didn’t have that kind of experience at all. In his case he was simply exposed to the attitudes and actions of two genuinely Christian people and that was enough for him to decide to become a Christ follower.
Friends, that’s how most people come to Christ. They don’t come to Christ because they have had some dramatic experience. They come to Christ because some other ordinary Christian’s faith to coin a phrase “went viral.” These ordinary Christians lived their faith in such a way that people around them were infected.
We are able to be here today because of the impact of those who have given us freedom from oppression. Those who had the courage to lead by example.
Most of you are here because you were exposed to someone who did their best to live like Jesus. You saw something in their attitudes and actions that made you say, “I want what they have.” That’s the way it works. So let me ask you. Would your attitudes and actions cause someone to want to be a follower of Jesus Christ? Being an effective witness of Jesus isn’t brain surgery. Live your faith regardless of your circumstance. Talk the talk and walk the walk and sooner or later you will be having an impact on those who are listening and watching.
Let all be assured:”The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice”(Psalm 97:1).
Please pray with me as Jesus prayed: “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them” (John 17:25-26).
“Talk the talk and Walk the Walk.”
In His Service,
Pastor Joe
Listen To Audio: Sermon 20220529
Listen To Audio: Service 05292022
*Call to Worship: God who continues to disturb us out of our routines and superficial contentment. Help us to be open to your guidance however it might disturb us or challenge us and those we encounter. Help us, Good Shepherd, to be led by your grace, mercy, and love as your witness to the world.
Prayer of Confession: O Lord, forgive us when we fail to respond to your call with faith. Forgive us when we are shackled
by our narrow understandings of discipleship and our clouded sense of purpose. Forgive us when we are frightened of the future or pull back from the demand of your calling. Forgive us when we fail to sense your presence in our past, to acknowledge your grace in the present moment, and to trust you for our future. Through your Spirit we offer ourselves in discipleship. Amen.
by our narrow understandings of discipleship and our clouded sense of purpose. Forgive us when we are frightened of the future or pull back from the demand of your calling. Forgive us when we fail to sense your presence in our past, to acknowledge your grace in the present moment, and to trust you for our future. Through your Spirit we offer ourselves in discipleship. Amen.
God be with you ‘til we meet again, By His counsels guide, up-hold you, With His sheep securely fold you: God be with you ‘til we meet again.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Pastor Joe will be available at the church on Thursday Mornings from 10:30 to 12:30. If you need to speak to him, contact Pastor Joe at 570-267-4570 (cell) or Email: joe.s.travis@gmail.com
Loose change goes to Trehab Local Food Bank.
Sunday School starts at 8:30am
Choir practice will be on Thursday at 9:00 A.M.
Memorial Day (USA) Monday, May 30
Newsletter Deadline – Tuesday, May 31st, 2022.
Social Hour after Sunday Services next week.
Pentecost Sunday, June 5
Hymn Sing on Sunday, June 5 at 3:00. Please invite others.
Presbyterian Women will meet on Thursday, June 9th at 11 A.M.
Men’s Breakfast Wednesday June 15th at 8:00 A.M.
If anyone has a family member graduating from nursery school to college, or in the service, please let Carolyn White know, so we can announce in the June newsletter.
Please mark your envelope if you are contributing to the piano repair fund.
The Franklin Hill Cemetery Association voted to raise the prices of graves effective June 1, 2022. Please see Marcia Perkins if you are considering buying graves.
