Was hearing
a teaching today on Paul and Silas being jailed in Acts 16. And we know it was
praise that set them free, yet they did not leave where they could continue to minister
life to others. Today we see people ready to break and run and they know not
where they want to run to. Heard this mayor in Illinois who is turning away the
illegal’s to suburban areas to keep them out of Chicago. I thought they made
that state a sanctuary state for all kinds of people to come in? Some people change on a flip of a coin! Some people have agendas!
In
scripture we find those still confined to the laws of the land. But many laws within
this land and this culture today go beyond the conscious mind to being
downright evil. Evil to children, in wanting to change their identity. Now I
can tell you that is the work of the devil for he had words with Jesus in the
wilderness.
In Titus 3:
1 remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities to obey, to be ready for
every good works, 2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing
all humility to all men.
Certainly
we are to obey laws, especially those that keep you out of error like on
highways, and to obey that of children in school to be educated to read and
write and not for some new gender assignment. How many took something that was
evil and stole their life in the last few years?
In
Redemption, we have a new home, and we abide by the truth given in that which
is of God and His grace, the love of His Son for our salvation and Holy Spirit
for power on earth now. We remember our worldly behavior in our pre-conversion
lives but we also realize of the love and kindness God has toward those still
lost in the lust of their sins!
The HOPE, our HOPE came through Jesus Christ! In Luke 4:2….Luke 4: 1 Then Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil . And in those days He ate nothing & afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. 3 And the devil said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God. 5 Then the devil taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, & their glory for this has been delivered to me, & I give it to whomever I wish.
7 Therefore
if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” 8 And Jesus answered and
said to him. “Get behind Me Satan! For it is
written you shall worship the LORD
your God & Him only you shall serve.” 9 Then be brought Him to
Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, & said to Him, “If you
are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.
Just to note here that Jesus spoke: “It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God. “Get behind Me Satan! For it is written you shall worship the LORD your God & Him only you shall serve. And this in verse 12: 12 And Jesus answered & said to him, “It has been said, You shall not tempt (test) the LORD your God.”
The devil
speaks in the beginning of v. 10> Luke 4: 10 For it is written: He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you.’ 11 and, In their hands
they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ 12 And Jesus answered & said to him,
“It has been said, You shall not tempt (test) the LORD your God.” 13 Now
when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an
opportune time. 14 Then Jesus returned
in the power of the Spirit to Galilee & news of Him went out through all
the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified
by all.
The actual
wording spoken or given in verse 10-11 from Psalm 91 : 11-12 For He shall give
His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. 12 In their hands
they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. In
all your ways: is God will give His angels charge over us when we are
obedient to Him and in service to Him.
That which is of our heart is
set totally on God, God will keep
us safe! Not serving the world or the
things of the world….not a culture of the flesh or of the culture of death
Jesus spoke
that which was written to make the charge against Satan, for he Satan had spoke
to Eve and got her to agree with him in the garden!
God said
this in Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree
of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely
die.”
And Satan
said this: Genesis 3: 1-4 and he said to the woman, “has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” 2 And the woman
said to the serpent, “we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but
of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said,
‘you shall not eat it, nor shall you
touch it, lest you die.” 4 then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die.”
Satan
changed it from every tree of the garden you may freely eat to you shall not
eat of every tree of the garden. It is important that we know what has
been given in the written word of God!
( We are the enlightened, we are in Him, we are His inheritance, His saints and by revelation we walk that way.)
In the
Wilderness we find what has our heart: for Israel, the wanted to return to bask
in Egyptian food, and making bricks without straw….Exodus 16:3 -4 NKJV 3 And
the children of Israel said to them, “Oh that we had died by the add of the
LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the post of meat and when we ate
bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill
this whole assembly with hunger. 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, Behold, I will
rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a
certain quota every day, that I may test them. Whether they will walk in My law
or not.
In Numbers 11 they craved meat: V.4 Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: Who will give us meat to eat? 5 We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons ,the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!
What has
your heart, what has my heart? This we
have seen in Luke 4 and Matthew 4: man lives by every word that proceeds from
the mouth of the LORD
Remembering
God and speaking God’s words reminds us of His faithfulness. God testing them proved if their hearts were for Him or for themselves; were they
meditating on Him! They were brought through the wilderness to find that
privacy with God who delivered them…..Do we find those times with God who has
delivered us….in times of trouble, pain, heartbreak…lack….! For us to have
spiritual survival, we must have God’s word.
If you awoke this morning at 3 a.m. was God's word coming out of your mouth?
We should
stay with Jesus! We should stay within the protective casing of God’s word for
our lives. Paul and Silas stayed and spoke of the Lord in praise. Held in bondage, they spoke with hearts on fire for Him!
ACTS
16:25-34…..25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening
to them. 26 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 chains were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from
sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew
his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice,
saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here." 29 Then he called
for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he
brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 So
they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you
and your household." 32 Then 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 stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34
Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he
rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
TO A SEEING
EYE AND A HEARING EAR………….PAUL AND SILAS CHOSE TO REJOICE IN THE LORD IN
PRAISE. And as they praised the Lord, the prisoners listened to them seen in
verse 25. And in verse 26 an earthquake shook the foundations and the cell
doors were loosened.
AN Attitude
in the midnight hour………..doing our best, knowing God’s plan and Word for us and
still the storms of life come, but we speak in all hours of the day and night
and we expect Him. We expect His Presence and His word to be spoken that sets the captives free. Are you captive to something? Worship the Lord, give praise to
His name and see His wonderful acts of love for you today!
In light of
the ministry of the Lord, He gave us understanding. Ephesians 1:18 the eyes of
our your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of
His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe,
according to the working of His mighty power.
The Spirit
of revelation working in us, that glory of His inheritance in the saints. God’s
purpose, that unveiling of our hearts to live spiritually God’s way by His word.
In that anointed word, we see yokes destroyed. But we must continue. We must
speak continually that word of power and give praise to Him who gave it to us.
In that we prevail by His mighty word. WE are set free!
Remaining Strong in the Lord
