A Screw Unscrewed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3uMgcRUYBs

Among other things, I'm a pastor. So occasionally I want to share some of the stuff I know and believe to be true. Things that are about faith, and hope, and encouragement. Having had my life transformed by faith over 50 years ago, and never disappointed, these things are the most precious gifts I have to offer.

Here's The Story.

One day, on our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl ran into us. She was a psychic and, with her fortunetelling, made a lot of money for the people who owned her. She started following Paul around, calling everyone’s attention to us by yelling out,

"These men are working for the most high God. They're laying out the road of salvation for you!"

She did this for a number of days until my colleague Paul, finally fed up with her, turned and commanded the spirit that possessed her,

"Out! In the name of Jesus Christ, get out of her!"

And it was gone, just like that.

When her owners saw that their lucrative little business was suddenly bankrupt, they went after us, roughed us up and dragged us into the market square. Then the police arrested us and dragged us into a court with the accusation,

"These men are disturbing the peace - they are dangerous agitators subverting the civil law and order."

What a Bystander Saw

Well, by this time the crowd had turned nasty and become a restless mob out for blood.

Naturally, the magistrates went along with the majority. They stripped them naked and ordered a public beating. After beating them black-and-blue, they threw them into jail, telling the governor to put them under heavy guard so there would be no chance of escape. Well, he did just that - threw them into a maximum security cell and clamped leg irons on them.

Along about midnight, Paul and Silas - that was their names - were praying and singing a few hymns and religious songs in their cell. The other prisoners couldn’t believe their ears. These must be religious nuts! Anyway, suddenly without warning, a huge earthquake!

The jailhouse tottered, walls cracked and doors flew open, so all the prisoners were loose. Startled from his sleep, the screw saw all the doors swinging loose on their hinges. Assuming all the prisoners had escaped, he pulled out his sword and was about to do himself in, figuring he was as good as dead anyway once the governor saw he'd let all the prisoners go. But Paul stopped him:

"Nah. Don't do that! We're all still here. See. Nobody's run away!"

The screw rushed off and got a torch. He ran inside the cell-block and sure enough. Everyone was still inside. Badly shaken as you can imagine, he collapsed in front of Paul and Silas. He was impressed. Taking his life in his hands, he led them out of the jail and asked,

"Sir, what do I have to do to be saved by your god and live for real?"

They said,

"Put your entire trust in the Master - Jesus. Then you'll live as you were meant to live - oh, and everyone in your family too."

Party Time.

Well, as I understand it from the screw, they went on to spell out in detail the story of the Master. The whole family got in on this part. They never did get to bed that night. The jailer made the two preachers feel right at home, dressed their wounds, and then - he couldn’t wait till morning! - he was baptised, him and everyone in his family. There in his home, he had a great spread set out for a celebration meal. It was a night to remember: He and his entire family had put their trust in God; everyone in the house was in on the celebration.

Few people like the thought of being different.

The idea of standing out from the crowd fills many with fear. We want to blend. The reward is acceptance and to a certain degree anonymity. We want to be accepted as one of the group, and we certainly don’t want to stand out.

But if we are to live lives that make a difference in the world, we must live lives that are different from the world. We must rise above the usual like a buzzard rises on the wind over the valley.

Now, I know some of you may be saying,

“ Well, Roy, that’s easy to say, but it’s difficult to soar with the buzzards when you’re clucking with the chickens.”

Well, it is true that we do have to endure the same problems and difficulties, which are common to everyone. Some of us even more than others. But while we may walk with the chickens most of the time, we have been given a soaring nature, which enables us to spread our wings and rise on the mighty currents of the Spirit.

Isaiah 40:31 in the Bible says,

“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. (Or in our case, buzzards)”

Everything may feel pretty desperate now. It's a difficult time, and sometimes all hope seems lost. But by God’s grace, we can be different and we can make a difference in our own and in the lives of others.

In this little story above, we get off the daily road and take a little journey with two men who made a difference. They would later be called by the rest of history those “who had turned the world upside down”. They made a difference because they were different. In the next couple of minutes, we'll see how we can become more like them - how we can become people who make a difference.

A Terrible Situation

What happens when a terrible situation becomes the reality of your life? All you’re doing is trying to live your life, do your best, and do what’s right. And then, unexpectedly, without warning, you’re bowled over by a terrible situation, over which you have no control.

Well, that’s precisely what happened to the two itinerant preachers. They had been preaching the Gospel wherever they were, and now they had come to this bustling city. But not everyone liked what they were doing there.

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the screw was commanded to guard them carefully.

Notice how this situation unfolds.

Because of their preaching the gospel, not because they had done wrong, they were arrested. In other words, they were innocent and falsely accused of a crime they had not committed. Ring any bells? And the first thing that happens to them is that they are sentenced and beaten. The courts acted a lot quicker in those days. No waiting for months or years on bail!

The magistrate conducted a kangaroo court - a bit like modern risk assessments - in which he was both judge and jury. Their clothes were torn from their backs, and they were beaten with rods. Then they found themselves thrown into prison.

It goes on:

After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

Not only were they sentenced and beaten, but they were also secluded and bound. It was not enough to beat them without a fair trial. Nor was it enough to throw them in jail without determining their guilt. They were shoved into what the story calls the inner prison. It was a horrible place. It was a cell, dug deep into the earth, located in the centre of the prison. There were no windows, therefore, no light. The floor was dirt. It was damp. It stank with the odour of human sewage. This is a bleak picture indeed. But the picture isn’t complete.

Not only were they thrown into this horrible place, but the jailer fastened their feet in the stocks. Even within this inner prison, they were bound with chains. It would be difficult to describe a much more desperate situation than that which befell these two preachers.

Bad things do happen to good people.

If we don't understand that truth, we'll be forever asking, "Why?"

Paul and Silas could have asked “Why?” But they didn’t. Because the answer is that all of us, saved and unsaved, good and bad, have to deal with bad situations. The rain falls on the just and the unjust alike.

What counts is how we react to the bad things. That little demon comes along, much like Job’s wife did, and says, “Curse God and die”. In other words, blame it on God and give up. That’s what this little fella wants us to do. He wants us to quit. He would like for us to become convinced that God is not really on our side after all, that it’s no use to continue to trust in Him. If we would become discouraged, begin feeling sorry for ourselves, blame God for all our troubles, and throw in the towel, that would suit him well.

But rather than doing that, we need to do what Paul and Silas did in their terrible situation.

A Thankful Saint

The story goes on...

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”

Here we see that a terrible situation revealed a thankful saint.

Notice, first of all, that they were focused in prayer. In the midst of this dark situation, they had not forsaken God. They knew that what they needed most, God had. What we see here are men praying in a crisis, but not simply because of the crisis. I am convinced that they were praying because prayer had become the normal thing for them to do. People do pray. I've especially noticed this during the corona virus pandemic. It helps when nothing else does. A friend of mine put a 'Prayer-Tree' outside her front garden at Easter. Today it's full of prayer-ribbons, hung there by anonymous people afraid of the virus and helpless to do anything about it.

So we know most people would pray if they were in as desperate a situation as Paul and Silas, but it would only be a prayer of desperation.

What the story is saying is that kind of prayer is not usually very effective. What we need to do is to learn how to pray when times are good. We need to develop a strong daily prayer life, where we learn how to communicate with God and how to hear His voice. If we do, when the hard times come, we will be able to effectively touch heaven and receive grace to help in time of need. What are people gonna do after the pandemic?

But notice the nature of the two preachers' prayer. Their prayer was not merely a lament over the terrible situation in which they found themselves. Their prayer was prayer of worship and a prayer of praise. We see here that they were not only focused in prayer, but they were full of praise. Notice the text says,

"Singing hymns to God"

…about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. Far from being depressed about this situation, they were full of thanksgiving. They knew God had not forsaken them; that somehow God was going to do a mighty work in the midst of this terrible situation. They saw in this obstacle an opportunity … they had become optimists.

Being an optimist is a matter of perspective. It depends on how you look at things whether you are an optimist or a pessimist.

Two shoe salesmen were sent on a mission. One to Africa and the other to South America . The pessimist in Africa wrote back, " I'm coming home. Nobody wears shoes here." The optimist in South America wrote back, "Nobody wears shoes here - send me some help."

A pessimist is someone who, when he smells flowers, looks around for the coffin!

But Paul and Silas were optimists and they had good reason to be. They were optimists because they had experienced the wonder-working power of God. And so have I and some of us. We serve a God who loved us before we ever knew what love was; who saved us when we only deserved his approbation; and who has met us time and time again with His love and mercy, patience and forgiveness. I think God has done many miracles in my life. Surely He will stand with me in the hard times. Oh, yes! I do praise the Lord for that!

Because Paul and Silas understood this about God like I, and many of us do, they were full of praise.

Picture two men in the darkest dungeon, at midnight, shackled lifting up their voices in praise to God.

They were singing when they should have been crying.

They were rejoicing when they should have been lamenting.

They were hopeful when they should have been despairing.

They were doing the exact opposite of what some people would do.

And notice that it says that the other prisoners were listening. Oh, yes, I do think we can live as though God were real - because He IS real.

And the world needs to be encountered by believers who live like that. If we do, then the world like those other prisoners will sit up and take notice.

A Trembling Stronghold

Well, a terrible situation resulted in a thankful saint, which I am convinced produced a trembling stronghold.

In the midst of this terrible situation, God began to move. Notice what happened.

“ 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.”

We see here a shaken jail. God sent a great earthquake. The foundations of this prison were shaken. The shaking was so great that the very doors of the prison cells were opened. But we see something interesting here: the very chains which bound these prisoners fell from their feet and hands.

Oh yes, this was no normal earthquake. This was God at work. God was at work shaking this jail apart.

Someone once said,

“When we go through God’s testing properly, all we lose are the shackles that tied us up earlier.”

Paul and Silas had passed the test.

God had heard their prayer.

He had received their praise,

and now he acted on their behalf.

But notice something else.

Not only do we have a shaken jail, we have a shaken jailer.

The screw 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!” The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.

Not only was the jail shaken, so was the jailer. He had been asleep until this earthquake hit. When he awoke, he saw the doors to each cell were wide open. He assumed all of the prisoners had escaped. Knowing that the punishment for a Roman guard with escaped prisoners was death; he drew his sword to kill himself.

How surprised he must have been when Paul shouted from his prison cell, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” He was shaken at first physically by the earthquake; he was shaken even more on an emotional level when he saw the prison doors open - shaken to the point of committing suicide, in fact. And now, when he heard they were all still there, he was shaken to the very core of his being. It says that he rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. Here we see a once proud Roman guard, humbled before his captives. This tough, thoroughly disciplined soldier knew something dramatic was happening.

The amazing thing about this incident is that even though the doors were wide open, and the chains had fallen from them, no one had left. No one.

We’ve already seen how Paul and Silas were praising God in the midst of their imprisonment. Could it be that they had such peace that they felt no compulsion to leave, even when the prison doors were opened? Undoubtedly so. They were truly men who trusted in God. Here was a trembling stronghold indeed.

A Transformed Prison Officer

What we see next is a transformed screw. The Philippian Jailer. The first thing this screw would receive was a new heart.

The story says,

“He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your family.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the prison warder took them and washed their wounds.

Wow! Because of what he had seen in Paul and Silas, this jailer asked the question of the ages. He said,

“What must I do to be saved?”

Their reply was,

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your household”.

That very night, this jailer put his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and received a new heart. He was a changed man. He took them, that same hour, which was after midnight, and washed their wounds. He brought them to his house and they shared the stories about Jesus with his whole family. Something indeed had happened to the man. It was like he had been born again. Into a new life. A new existence!

But notice that he not only received a new heart, he received a new home.

It says,

“ Then immediately he and all his family were baptised. 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.”

There ya go. Not only was he born again, but his whole family was. He received a new heart and a new home, all because he put his faith in Jesus Christ. Now he, too, could rejoice in the power of God to save.

They had trusted, not in a God who had to deliver them from the hard times, but in a God who would be with them in the hard times. As a result of that kind of faith, lives had been changed.

Do you see what has happened here?

Because of how these two Christians responded to a terrible situation, others were impacted for justice.

People were changed because they saw a difference in the lives of Paul and Silas. And they will be changed today, when they see a difference in our lives.

Never ever apologise for being different.

We have not been born to blend.

We have not been called to be like other people.

We have been called to be like Christ - You know - the one who was falsely accused, punished and eventually murdered by the state authorities. The one who was innocent and despised.

It may help to allow Christ to live His life in you and through you.

It will be a life full of power, full of praise, full of Jesus.

In prison or not; falsely accused and innocent even...

It will be different,

manifestly different, from the other lives lived out around us.

People will take notice, and they will want it too.

And like this screw, this prison warder, this man, they will see their own prayers of desperation - even in times of corona virus - even in times of hopeless desperation - turning to songs of redemption.

It is the hope of all innocent people and those who support them.

In the end, it is the hope of all people.