I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have followed My word, and have not denied My name. - Revelation 3:8
Good morning. I trust that you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! As we kick off 2022, my prayer is that God will move mightily during this coming year in our hearts, homes, churches, and communities.
Whenever a new year begins, it's only natural to think about the opportunities that it might hold. While we can and should plan ahead, experience shows us that God often leads us down unforeseen and unexpected paths. There are many details in my life today that I certainly didn’t anticipate a year ago…
Many Christians seek direction by praying for God to open doors of opportunity consistent with His will while closing those outside of it. Following this approach, some have mistaken an open door as a definitive sign of God’s leadership. But, as we will learn today, not every door that opens is for us to walk through…
I. A DOOR MIRACULOUSLY OPENS (Acts 16:16-28)
During his second missionary journey, Paul traveled into Macedonia and came to the city of Philippi. While he was teaching there, Paul cast a divining spirit out of a slave girl who had been repeartedly pestering him. This rendered her unable to read fortunes, thereby costing her masters future profit. These men became furious with Paul, seized him and his missionary partner Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. They hurled accusations against Paul and Silas and incited the crowd against them, afterwhich the magistrates had the pair of missionaries beaten, cast into prison, and bound in stocks.
That night, while confined in an inner cell, Paul and Silas prayed and sang songs of praise to God Almighty. Rather than being overwhelmed by feelings of despair, they considered it an honor to suffer for Christ and were neither bitter or afraid. As they sang, the other prisoners listened with wonder. About midnight a great earthquake struck, shaking the foundations of the prison. Immediately all of the prison doors were opened and everyone’s chains and shackles were loosed. God had miraculously opened the prison’s doors, making it possible for Paul and his fellow inmates to escape.
Apparently the chief jailer, who had been given charge over that Paul and Silas, had somehow slept through the earthquake. When he awoke and saw the doors open, he assumed that Paul, Silas, and all of the other prisoners had gotten away. Believing himself to be a failure, the jailer was about to kill himself when Paul cried out loudly, “Don’t hurt yourself! We are all here.” Amazingly, despite the opportunity to escape, Paul had chosen to stay in his cell and had convinced everyone else to do likewise. God had obviously opened the door, but Paul chose not to go through it. Why?
II. A FAMILY COMES TO SALVATION (Acts 16:29-34)
Hearing Paul’s voice, the chief jailer rushed into the prison to discover that he and all of the other inmates were still there. Overcome by a convicting fear, the jailer fell down before Paul and Silas and asked them what he must do to be saved. He escorted them in the dark of night to his house, where Paul explained how to accept Jesus Christ as Savior. As a result, the jailer and his entire family were saved and baptized. Overjoyed, they fed Paul and Silas and tended to their wounds (which had been inflicted during their earlier beating).
Let us pause for a moment to consider what would have happened had Paul and Silas seen the open prisoner doors as a sign to escape. Presumably, the chief jailer would have killed himself. His family would have been left to pick up the pieces in the wake of this tragedy, and would carry unspeakable grief and sorrow for years to come. Most importantly, none of them would have come to salvation… at least, not on this particular occasion. Nor would they have become founding members of the Philippian church.
Whenever we find ourselves in a difficult spot or in dire circumstances, we must be careful not to simply assume that a new opportunity or approach is indicative of God’s will. Perhaps, in some cases, the open door is a test that measures our willingness to remain steadfast. I am not saying this is always the case, but simply explaining that discerning God’s will is not always as easy as following a simple formula. We must be careful to consider what might be lost if we walk through an open door…
III. A WRONG IS MADE RIGHT (Acts 16:35-40)
The next morning, the magistrates sent orders to release Paul and Silas. Apparently the earthquake that had struck the prison earlier was so localized that they had not felt its effects. Upon receiving the order, the chief jailer told Paul and Silas to, “Come out and go in peace.” His words suggest that the trio had left the jailer’s house, returned to the prison, and remained there until morning. Again, Paul and his colleague chose to stay voluntarily confined in Philippi all night rather than to flee.
Upon hearing that he’d been officially released, Paul was… livid. He and Silas had been arrested publicly, without due process, and with no regard for their Roman citizenship. Their treatment had been a great miscarriage of justice. Now these same sniveling authorities had sent lackeys to send the duo away quietly, hoping to avoid any responsibility for their actions. Paul boldly demanded that these magistrates come to the prison themselves, apologize, and personally escort the pair of missionaries out. Knowing that they had acted in the wrong, the magistrates begrudgingly did just that. Only then did Paul and Silas depart the city.
Sometimes rather than seeing an open door as an opportunity to escape injustice, perhaps God’s greater desire is that we stay put and demand justice. It is a noble thing to right a wrong. Whenever we allow such abuses to go unchallenged, we permit those who impose them to escape accountability - at least for now. Perhaps, because of Paul and Silas’ actions, some of these magistrates learned an important lesson about justice and fairness that impacted them for the rest of their lives. As Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
CONCLUSION
In summation, as we look forward to the coming year I am excited to see all of the doors that God will open for our church and its ministries. Let me be clear - I do believe we should pray both individually and corporately that God would reveal His will to us and direct our steps. There is nothing wrong with praying for open and closed doors. Nevertheless, we should be careful not to mistake every open door as an unambiguous sign of God’s beckoning will. Sometimes God calls us to something new, but other times He wants us to stay the course, even as opportunities present themselves…
Scripture doesn’t explicitly say that Paul and Silas prayed to escape. On the contrary, I suspect that they were praying for strength and encouragement to carry on. They were less concerned about their own comfort and personal setting more concerned about their calling to serve the lost and to seek justice. I’ll admit that haven’t always accurately discerned God’s will for my life, and have made some missteps along the way, but I trust that Paul and Silas made the right decision. Their wisdom serves as a guideline for our congregation as we seek to rightly follow God’s direction in 2022.
Good morning. I trust that you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! As we kick off 2022, my prayer is that God will move mightily during this coming year in our hearts, homes, churches, and communities.
Whenever a new year begins, it's only natural to think about the opportunities that it might hold. While we can and should plan ahead, experience shows us that God often leads us down unforeseen and unexpected paths. There are many details in my life today that I certainly didn’t anticipate a year ago…
Many Christians seek direction by praying for God to open doors of opportunity consistent with His will while closing those outside of it. Following this approach, some have mistaken an open door as a definitive sign of God’s leadership. But, as we will learn today, not every door that opens is for us to walk through…
I. A DOOR MIRACULOUSLY OPENS (Acts 16:16-28)
During his second missionary journey, Paul traveled into Macedonia and came to the city of Philippi. While he was teaching there, Paul cast a divining spirit out of a slave girl who had been repeartedly pestering him. This rendered her unable to read fortunes, thereby costing her masters future profit. These men became furious with Paul, seized him and his missionary partner Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. They hurled accusations against Paul and Silas and incited the crowd against them, afterwhich the magistrates had the pair of missionaries beaten, cast into prison, and bound in stocks.
That night, while confined in an inner cell, Paul and Silas prayed and sang songs of praise to God Almighty. Rather than being overwhelmed by feelings of despair, they considered it an honor to suffer for Christ and were neither bitter or afraid. As they sang, the other prisoners listened with wonder. About midnight a great earthquake struck, shaking the foundations of the prison. Immediately all of the prison doors were opened and everyone’s chains and shackles were loosed. God had miraculously opened the prison’s doors, making it possible for Paul and his fellow inmates to escape.
Apparently the chief jailer, who had been given charge over that Paul and Silas, had somehow slept through the earthquake. When he awoke and saw the doors open, he assumed that Paul, Silas, and all of the other prisoners had gotten away. Believing himself to be a failure, the jailer was about to kill himself when Paul cried out loudly, “Don’t hurt yourself! We are all here.” Amazingly, despite the opportunity to escape, Paul had chosen to stay in his cell and had convinced everyone else to do likewise. God had obviously opened the door, but Paul chose not to go through it. Why?
II. A FAMILY COMES TO SALVATION (Acts 16:29-34)
Hearing Paul’s voice, the chief jailer rushed into the prison to discover that he and all of the other inmates were still there. Overcome by a convicting fear, the jailer fell down before Paul and Silas and asked them what he must do to be saved. He escorted them in the dark of night to his house, where Paul explained how to accept Jesus Christ as Savior. As a result, the jailer and his entire family were saved and baptized. Overjoyed, they fed Paul and Silas and tended to their wounds (which had been inflicted during their earlier beating).
Let us pause for a moment to consider what would have happened had Paul and Silas seen the open prisoner doors as a sign to escape. Presumably, the chief jailer would have killed himself. His family would have been left to pick up the pieces in the wake of this tragedy, and would carry unspeakable grief and sorrow for years to come. Most importantly, none of them would have come to salvation… at least, not on this particular occasion. Nor would they have become founding members of the Philippian church.
Whenever we find ourselves in a difficult spot or in dire circumstances, we must be careful not to simply assume that a new opportunity or approach is indicative of God’s will. Perhaps, in some cases, the open door is a test that measures our willingness to remain steadfast. I am not saying this is always the case, but simply explaining that discerning God’s will is not always as easy as following a simple formula. We must be careful to consider what might be lost if we walk through an open door…
III. A WRONG IS MADE RIGHT (Acts 16:35-40)
The next morning, the magistrates sent orders to release Paul and Silas. Apparently the earthquake that had struck the prison earlier was so localized that they had not felt its effects. Upon receiving the order, the chief jailer told Paul and Silas to, “Come out and go in peace.” His words suggest that the trio had left the jailer’s house, returned to the prison, and remained there until morning. Again, Paul and his colleague chose to stay voluntarily confined in Philippi all night rather than to flee.
Upon hearing that he’d been officially released, Paul was… livid. He and Silas had been arrested publicly, without due process, and with no regard for their Roman citizenship. Their treatment had been a great miscarriage of justice. Now these same sniveling authorities had sent lackeys to send the duo away quietly, hoping to avoid any responsibility for their actions. Paul boldly demanded that these magistrates come to the prison themselves, apologize, and personally escort the pair of missionaries out. Knowing that they had acted in the wrong, the magistrates begrudgingly did just that. Only then did Paul and Silas depart the city.
Sometimes rather than seeing an open door as an opportunity to escape injustice, perhaps God’s greater desire is that we stay put and demand justice. It is a noble thing to right a wrong. Whenever we allow such abuses to go unchallenged, we permit those who impose them to escape accountability - at least for now. Perhaps, because of Paul and Silas’ actions, some of these magistrates learned an important lesson about justice and fairness that impacted them for the rest of their lives. As Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
CONCLUSION
In summation, as we look forward to the coming year I am excited to see all of the doors that God will open for our church and its ministries. Let me be clear - I do believe we should pray both individually and corporately that God would reveal His will to us and direct our steps. There is nothing wrong with praying for open and closed doors. Nevertheless, we should be careful not to mistake every open door as an unambiguous sign of God’s beckoning will. Sometimes God calls us to something new, but other times He wants us to stay the course, even as opportunities present themselves…
Scripture doesn’t explicitly say that Paul and Silas prayed to escape. On the contrary, I suspect that they were praying for strength and encouragement to carry on. They were less concerned about their own comfort and personal setting more concerned about their calling to serve the lost and to seek justice. I’ll admit that haven’t always accurately discerned God’s will for my life, and have made some missteps along the way, but I trust that Paul and Silas made the right decision. Their wisdom serves as a guideline for our congregation as we seek to rightly follow God’s direction in 2022.