How Do You Spell Relief?

Introduction

Acts 16:25–40 ESV

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and 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 bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God. 35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” 38 The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. 40 So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

Dr. Gardner C. Taylor is known to many as the greatest black churchman in America, called the dean of American preaching. His is now 95 years old and was a friend and mentor to MLK Jr. Now moving around either by walking cane or wheelchair and living in a retirement home, I had opportunity to hear him preach only once in person. This was a number of years ago, ironically, in Alexandria, VA. I say ironically because Dr. Taylor served as the senior pastor of Concord Baptist Church in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, NY from 1948-1990, but I’d never been to Concord while growing up and living in Brooklyn.

I did take a tour of Concord Baptist back in 2000, and one of the memorable aspects of the church is the words that were written on the floor right as you enter the pulpit. For years and years, every Sunday as Dr. Taylor would step into the pulpit to preach he would see these words on the floor, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” These words were taken from the gospel of John, chapter 12 and verse 21. In that verse, John tells us that some Gentiles came up to one of the 12 disciples, Philip, and said, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

Those words written on the floor as Dr. Taylor would enter the pulpit of Concord reminded him of his task and responsibility. He was not to make himself, his opinion, or anything else the center of his message. What the people needed to hear, to believe, to receive was Jesus Christ. Whether or not they knew it, he knew it and needed to be about that work. All Dr. Taylor was doing week after week in that reminder was walk in the same line of the apostles.

We are in the third section of this first visit to the city of Philippi. The Lord has been at work changing lives. He opened Lydia’s heart to understand the message that Paul was preaching. He changed the life of a demon possessed slave girl by delivering her from spiritual oppression. This led to Paul and Silas being beaten mercilessly and thrown into the inner part of the jail in Philippi. Now we find out that this happened because God had plans to grab the heart of the man responsible for guarding the prison. He asks a question that he really doesn’t know the significance of. He asks in v. 30, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” The man doesn’t know anything about Jesus. As we’ll see, he’s asking for relief. But Paul knows that he needs to see Jesus; that, as simplistic as it sounds, included in the answer to every question of distress is, “believe in the Lord Jesus.” This isn’t a trick. The answer to the question of our sermon title, “how do you spell relief,” is J-E-S-U-S. We will see that through two ‘Cs’ in our text, In Calm and In Crisis.

In Calm

This is the third time in Acts that we’ve seen God move in a miraculous way when his apostles were put in jail. The first time was in chapter 5 when the high priest and the Sadducees arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. An angel of the Lord appeared during the night, opened the doors of the prison and brought them out. The second time was in ch. 12 when Herod, after he had James killed, arrested Peter and put him in jail intending to execute him in the morning. Again, an angel of the Lord appeared to Peter an led him out of the prison. Now, here in Philippi, Luke doesn’t say that the Lord sent an earthquake, but we know that earthquake didn’t happen by coincidence. Even so, do you notice what Paul and Silas were doing before the earthquake?

In v. 25, it was around midnight, these brothers were in pain. They had open wounds on their backs from the severe beating that they had just received. Their feet are fastened in the stocks, so they can’t get themselves in any position of comfort. Yet, they have an incredible calm about them. They are signing hymns to God as they pray. They hymns they were singing would’ve been the Psalms. Sing a psalm and pray. Then sing another psalm and pray again. And the other prisoners were listening in. We don’t know what psalms they were signing and we don't know the content of their prayers. What we do know is that instead of being in hopeless despair over their circumstance, instead of facing their crisis of pain, hunger and thirst, with a crushing despair, they have a calm about them. This is not normal. Don’t romanticize what we read here. They were in bad shape. This was a terrible situation. The other prisoners were listening in because people don’t do that. Who are these guys? Why are they singing and praying? They are singing and praying because Christians can always have hope. Notice that I said Christians can always have hope. Christians don’t always realize the hope that they have in crisis.

Because of their hope in Jesus Christ, peace and praise follow their persecution. That is as much of a pattern we see in Acts as anything else. The people of God hoping in God and turning to God in the middle of crisis. Before we talk about the crisis that the jailer faced, Paul and Silas had a crisis too, but it wasn’t a crisis of faith. How are they able to have such calm in the middle of their crisis? How did they spell relief? J-E-S-U-S. They could only rest in their crisis because they were resting in Christ. We saw the same thing with Peter back in ch. 12. Peter was going to be executed the next morning. What was Peter doing? He was sleeping. Peter was sleeping so soundly that when the angel rescued him he didn’t know whether he was still dreaming or if it was real.

You see, there is a calm assurance available for those who belong to Jesus Christ. There is a hope in God that is greater than the conditions and the circumstances that we are in. And it’s not a wishful thinking that I’m talking about. I’m talking about a peace that only the Spirit of God can give you. I’m sorry to tell you, but you cannot avoid crisis. You can avoid Christ in your crisis, but you cannot avoid crisis. None of us are suffering the intense persecution that these men are dealing with in our text. But the calm that they have is instructive. What are you in the middle of right now that’s stressing and stretching you? Do you know what it’s revealing? It reveals who owns your dreams, your plans and your desires?

What do you think that Christianity is? Do you think that it is about God rubber stamping your dreams and desires? You’re going to say to me, “No, I don’t think Christianity is about that!” But, when crisis comes to you as a Christian, are you responding to it as if this whole deal is about God getting on board with your plan?

Do you know what Jesus says? He says to us, “whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:24). Do you know what the Bible says about Christians? “You all are not your own for you all were bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6.20). Do you know what that means? It means that you have come to believe that God is so good, that his grace is so great, that his mercy is so everlasting that you are willing to give yourself away to him completely. Including, and especially your dreams and visions and strategic plans.

The kind of calm in the storm that we see from Paul and Silas here only comes because the faith in Jesus that they signed up for was the one that included the giving away of themselves to Jesus and knowing that he would never abandon you. And this ridiculous faith is serving as a testimony to the other prisoners in the jail. Paul and Silas are about to say to the jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus.” Why do their words have credibility? They are demonstrating in their life at this moment, the faith in Jesus that they’re going to tell this man about. They serve as the example of their message. Do you want God to rubber stamp your plans believing that that’s what’s going to bring you the most happiness and satisfaction in life? Or are you willing to give your plans to Jesus because, as hard as it is for you to imagine, he has a better plan than you do, even if it takes you into situations and conflicts and places you’d rather not be?

In Crisis

Paul and Silas’ calm in this text in the middle of their crisis, is contrasted with the jailer’s utter desperation and hopelessness when crisis comes knocking at his door. When he’s in crisis, he spells relief a different way than they do.

A great earthquake comes, so strong that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately, all of the doors opened up and everybody’s bonds were unfastened. What was the jailer doing while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns? He was sleeping. He was resting peacefully. But when God moved, his peace became crisis real fast. When he woke up, Luke says in v. 27, and saw that the doors of the prison were opened, he took out his sword. He took out his sword to commit suicide because he figured that all of the prisoners had escaped. What that meant was that he was going to face torture and execution himself. It’d be better, he figured, to take my life now, while I’m still in control, than leave my fate in the hands of someone else.

Before the man can do what he set his mind on, Paul shouts out to the man, “Don’t harm yourself, we’re all here.” The jailer can’t believe it. So he called for lights and ran in to see if that was true. He comes trembling with fear, and as he sees that everyone is still there, he falls at Paul & Silas’ feet and asks what must I do to be saved? If you are familiar with the biblical message of salvation that runs throughout the whole Bible—God says in Isaiah 45:22, “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other!” In John 4, the woman at the well goes back to her town and tells the Samaritans there about Jesus. They say, “we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world” (John 4:42)—if you’re familiar with this message of salvation, you might miss what the jailer is asking in the midst of his crisis.

Remember what we said last week about the shouts of the demon possessed slave girl? She was following behind Paul and Silas shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God! They are declaring to you the way of salvation!” We pointed out that this was Philippi, not Jerusalem. The Most High God for these people would not have been Yahweh. The way of salvation would not have meant righteousness with God and forgiveness of sin. The jailer when he asks, what must I do to be saved, he hasn’t all of a sudden poured all of the meaning of salvation in Jesus Christ into his question. He’s never heard of Jesus before. He doesn’t know who the Lord is. This is a question of desperation. How can I be rescued from the disaster that’s going to come upon me? When the worst thing that we can imagine happening to us happens, we want to know how to get relief. He’s asking, how can I get out of this mess? He’s not asking about justification by grace through faith. That’s not the salvation he’s thinking about. Gentlemen, can you please tell me how I can get out of this mess? I’ll do anything.

Of course, when Paul and Silas answer the question, the jailer gets more than he bargained for. They know the deeper answer to his superficial question. “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.” They have to explain to him what salvation really is. So, Luke says in v. 32, “They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.” They have to go deeper than the question he’s asking. What he needs to understand is that Jesus is Lord. That Jesus is reigning as Lord right now even over this messy situation he’s in right now. One commentator put it well when he says,

“Paul and Silas address both the very specific question the jailer has asked and the deep, world-deep, heart-deep, God-deep question which, with practiced eye, they can see lies beneath it.”

Their message to his concern, how do I get out of this mess, wasn’t believe in Jesus and he’ll clear your life from all the trouble and problems you’re going to have. No. Their message was believe in the Lord Jesus because you need a deeper trust than to be ruled by your circumstances. He’s Lord even in the middle of a terrible crisis, and that is a trust you need to have. That is a trust that enables you to have a calm assurance even in crisis. You might want the easy life, but there’s no crown without the cross. That’s not how it works in God’s kingdom.

The man believes and is baptized. He and his family. Just as Lydia’s conversion resulted in a whole new covenant household in Philippi, so the conversion of the jailer resulted in new covenant household in the city. The Lord’s work there wasn’t just about the getting an individual here and there to believe in him, he was about the business of claiming whole households. Just as Lydia’s conversion resulted in a sacrificial hospitality with her home become the base of their ministry in Philippi, the jailer demonstrates incredible hospitality. He brings them out of the jail, and into his home, cleans their wounds and feeds them. There is joy in this household, things are different now because he has believed in God. He knows that at the center of this faith is not the message of what can I get from God to make my life happy.

God is still delivering this message when we want life and faith to be about God rubber stamping our desires and relieving us from difficulty. I got a letter this week that reminded me of that. I had for months and months been meeting with a young brother at the jail. He said that he believed in the Lord Jesus. He would read his Bible and pepper me with questions when we met. He sharing his faith with other inmates. But I got the sense over time that he felt like if I’m just doing right, and doing all this for God, he’s going to bless me by giving me a light sentence. Then I’ll be free because he knows I’ll live for him. I would, on several occasions remind him that faith in Jesus isn’t about your plan. You don’t know what’s best, God does. When his sentencing came, the judge gave him the max. Threw the book at him, and he was going off to prison for a good number of years. I went to see him one last time to encourage him to remain in the faith. What is he going to do now that his plan has been crushed? Now that God isn’t the genie he anticipated? He was depressed and despondent. Crushed and ready to give up the faith. I gave him my information and told him to write me and let me know how he was. He didn’t respond. Well I just got this letter and here’s some of what he said,

“I’m still praying and staying fast in my word, not like I’m supposed to, but I’m still in it. I never thanked you for all you’ve done by giving me insight on the Bible. You helped me a lot cause when I got my time I was ready to give up and just live the way I used to. But God put you there to let me know when he is in the mix it ain’t over… I also had to figure out that the battle wasn’t mine, it’s his. Just like 1 Peter 5:7, ‘Cast all your care upon him cause he cares for you.’… I love you brother.”

I think that’s how you spell relief. “Cast all your cares on him because he cares for you.” When threatened and crushed by crisis, casting all of your cares on him because he cares for you. Those are not simply words on a page. The Lord will provide opportunity for you this week to cast all of your cares on him. Do you believe that he cares for you?…