There is Power in Jesus

Notes
Transcript
If you have your bible this morning, go to Acts 16. We will begin at verse 16.
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
17 She 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 annoyed 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 her owners 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 with rods.
23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.
24 When he received these 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 everyone’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 household 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 household.
35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.”
36 The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”
37 But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”
38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.
39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.
40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.
Do you ever feel trapped? Bound? Or Enslaved?
Do you ever feel trapped? Bound? Or Enslaved?
What is keeping you from being set free?
Jesus came to this earth so that you can be free from any bondage. Whatever is enslaving you, you can be set free from that burden.
Finances? Jesus can set you free.
Diseases? Jesus can set you free.
Addiction? Jesus can set you free.
Sin? Jesus can set you free.
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Our text today has people that are dealing with bondage and one by one each of those are set free by the power of Jesus.
1. The Slave Girl
1. The Slave Girl
First off she was a slave. She was not free physically. Not sure but she could have been born into slavery. Her owners were using her to predict the future. There was a demon possessing her that would help her predict the future. So, there was also a captivity by an evil spirit.
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
She would follow Paul around shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”
This was a true statement but Paul didn’t want the people to think that Jesus was connected to this evil Spirit.
2. Paul and His Traveling Companions
2. Paul and His Traveling Companions
Because Paul cast the demon out of the slave girl it made her owners very angry, so they made false accusations against them and had them thrown in jail.
They were literally bound with chains. They were placed in the inner most part of the prison so they couldn’t escape.
3. The Jailer and His Family
3. The Jailer and His Family
They had not asked Jesus to forgive their sins, yet.
All three were bound by some way. The slave girl by a demon. Paul by actual chains. And the jailers family by sin.
When you are bound by chains. That burden can get heavy. And the longer you carry them, the heavier it gets and the harder it is.
Here is the promise that I will give to you today. You don’t have to carry those burdens anymore. You can be set free by the power of Jesus. Jesus can break those chains today.
Jesus set each one of these people free.
The slave girl was set free when Paul cast the demon out of her.
Paul and Silas sang songs of praise and the earthquake happened and the chains fell off of them.
The jailer asked how they could be saved and Paul said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
Are you living in the freedom that is found only in Jesus Christ?
You no longer have to carry around the chains that have bound you. You can be set free today. Jesus wants to set you free and let you walk in liberty.