IT REALLY IS THAT SIMPLE
Scripture: Acts 16:16-34

FOCUS: Salvation really does come to us, in every aspect of life, as we believe on the Master.

What a rich story we have before us this morning. It is full of life, real life, and it is packed with examples of God’s grace and love. I am glad that scripture is not filled with squeaky clean examples of perfect behavior and angelic reactions. I like the fact that even the great women and men of the Bible are portrayed honestly; faults, frustrations, emotions and all. Such is the case with Paul in our scripture.

Put yourself in his shoes. You are trying to share a radical new message of God’s love and grace. You have a life changing story to share with the people, but this crazy woman keeps following you around. It would not be a stretch to say the she was stalking Paul and the others. She had been doing so for days on end, uninterrupted. She posed no physical threat and could have easily been overwhelmed by Paul and Silas had she tried anything. But she didn’t. What she did do was call out incessantly as she followed them. “These men are slaves of the Most High God and they are spelling out the plan of salvation to all the world.”

Well the message was on target, not a bit of untruth in it. But it was not the way God sought to publicize the good news. The message which Paul and Silas sought to share was a message of freedom, of salvation, of release from worldly captivity. Yet here was one who was the epitome of just such worldly brokenness. She was a slave, a human being loved by God but owned by others and possessed by an evil spirit. She was being used and abused by her masters to turn a hefty profit. Her psychic prognostications were not being offered to set people free or to encourage or comfort, they were a lucrative source of income at the expense of others, income which accrued, not for her benefit, but for the benefit of the ones who owned her, who saw her as nothing more than property and who treated her as such.

For days Paul and his traveling companions put up with the irritation. Finally Paul experienced what most of us would have experienced, probably much earlier than did he. Paul reached his limit. He was irritated and sick and tired of her antics. So he spun around and ordered the spirit of divination out of her. And it was gone, along with a lucrative source of profit for some of the towns more prominent citizens, her masters. We are not given any more information about the girl. We are not told whether or not she came to faith. We don’t know where she went or what she did with the rest of her life.

We are told that her owners and their clan were none too happy. After all, a profitable business had just been put out of commission. Her masters were connected, man of some influence. And they stirred the pot, big time. They concocted charges against Paul and Silas, charges of sedition. The pair was also accused of disturbing the peace, of messing with the status quo. Of that they certainly were guilty as charged, but Paul and Silas sought to make things better not worse, to reveal truth not conceal it, to free folk not to imprison. However, the message of hope they brought was a threat to those in power, to those consumed with the preservation of their privileged status and intent on preserving their freedom to indulge themselves at the expense of others. So the pair of troublemakers was thrown in prison, locked up in the most secure cell in the middle of the jail.

In that cell we find a real testament to the depth of the pair’s faith and commitment to the one whose message they were called to spread. Shackled, in the dark, in the least comfortable spot in a most uncomfortable place they did what they always did no matter where they were, they bore witness to the gospel as they prayed and sang hymns of praise, at midnight. The other prisoners were astounded. Then came the earthquake and perhaps the most amazing part of the story. The doors of the prison were all sprung open. The jailer was ready to fall on his sword, certain that his life was over one way or the other, for surely the authorities would have him pay for allowing the prisoners to escape.

Paul intervened, assured him that the inmates were all still there. We are not told why they failed to escape, but I can’t help but imagine that the prisoners remained because they had encountered a freedom from beyond this world there in that dungeon. They experienced something in that most horrible of places which allowed them to know freedom even while incarcerated, which enlightened them to the reality of the chains which often bind those on the outside, those who think they are most liberated, and which rescued the inmates from despair.

Certainly the jailer must have been confused, frightened, on guard. Maybe this is some kind of setup he must have thought. Are the prisoners going to jump me? Or is this some cruel joke precipitated by my superiors, a weird test of my ability? He was clearly afraid and so he asked Paul and Silas, who were obviously calm in the midst of all the chaos, “What must I do to be saved?”

Saved from what? I suspect that, at least in part, he was asking about immediate salvation from the precarious situation in which he found himself. Here he was surrounded by all the prisoners over which he had been given authority, the ones he had disciplined, perhaps even abused. How could he be saved from them? He was hopelessly outnumbered. Or maybe he was seeking rescue from the wrath of the Roman authorities who would certainly question what had happened that night. How could he save his job, his reputation? The answer came immediately and simply, “Believe in the Master, Jesus and you will be save.”  Paul said. The jailer was most likely not intending his to be a theological or even particularly deep question, but it was and so was the answer. It is the answer for all of our troubled lives. Believe in Jesus and be saved.

I ran across an anonymous story this week which really spoke to me of the nature of God’s calling and of the salvation which comes to each of us if we will but believe and accept it. It was a reminder to me that we all need to be rescued, over and over again. It was a source of comfort as I was reminded that those of us who believe can find not only eternal salvation, but also the daily salvation we all need.

I was parked in front of the mall, wiping off my car, the story begins. I had just come from the car wash and was waiting for my wife to get out of work. Coming my way from across the parking lot was one polite society would consider a bum. From the looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes and no money. There are times when you feel generous, and then there are other times when you just don’t want to be bothered. This was one of those “don’t want to be bothered” times. “I hope he doesn’t ask me for any money,” I thought to myself. He didn’t.

He came and sat on the curb in front of the bus stop, but he didn’t look like he could have enough money to even ride the bus. After a few minutes he spoke. “That’s a very pretty car,” he said. He was ragged, but he had an air of dignity around him. I said, “Thanks,” and continued wiping off my car. He sat there quietly as I worked. The expected plea for money never came. As the silence between us widened, something inside me said, “Ask him if he needs any help.” I was sure that he would say, “Yes.” “Do you need any help?” I asked. He answered in three simple words that I shall never forget “Don’t we all?” he said.

I was feeling high and mighty, successful and important, above a bum in the street, until those three words shook me to the core. “Don’t we all?” I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I needed help. I reached in my wallet and gave him not only enough for bus fare, but enough to get a warm meal and shelter for the day. Those three little words rang in my ear long after the man was gone. No matter how much you have, no matter how much you have accomplished, you still need help, too. You never know when you may see someone who appears to have it all. He may be waiting on you to give him something he desperately needs, a different perspective on life, a glimpse of something beautiful or most importantly the simple message of salvation by grace. Maybe that man was just a homeless stranger, or maybe he was more than that. The story ends with these poignant words; Maybe he was a messenger sent by God to minister to a soul who was too comfortable in himself.

We all need help. And the good news is that help is always available. We all need to be rescued. And the good news is that God has sent a savior. Are you broken this morning? Are you lost? Are you afraid? Do you struggle with depression or anger? Are you facing disappointment or frustration? Has life tossed you an unexpected curve ball? Know you are not alone.

Back in the dark ages when I was one who sat on the other side of the pulpit on Sunday morning, I occasionally found myself having a pity party as I glanced around during worship. If I had experienced some setback on the job, I looked at all the smiling faces and assumed no one else was struggling like me, that others were all far more successful than I. If unexpected bills had come in and our family had discovered that there was still some month left at the end of the money, I would look at all the neatly dressed folks driving shiny new cars and convince myself that the rest of the congregation had been spared such difficulty. If it had been a rough week for our family and there was a bit of tension in the air, I managed to assume that the lives of all the other families surrounding me were as perfect as the Cleavers or Ozzie and Harriet. If you don’t understand that example ask someone sitting close by who has at least a touch of gray hair.

When I went to work for the church, and folks began to share with me things in confidence, I discovered that there were not any perfect families in the congregation. As more and more folks came to share their frustrations with me I realized that few if any of those who worshipped with me had stress free jobs where success was guaranteed. I even came to discover that some of those I assumed had the least financial stress were actually about to tumble over a financial cliff in their fancy imported automobiles. 

Each of us here this morning is in trouble. Some of the trouble is significant. Well to each of us our personal trouble is always significant, but some of us are currently facing more difficult situations than others. I know what many of you face, and I pray regularly for your situations. Some of you face financial difficulty. Some of you struggle with difficult relationships. Some of you face challenges at school or in the workplace. Some of you face unemployment or underemployment. Some of you struggle against serious health problems.

As we face our personal challenges I suspect we all share with that jailer the desire to be rescued, to be saved from that which has the potential to destroy us. And for each one of us the answer is the same and it is simple and simply wonderful. Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. It really is that simple, and that profound. In the Message paraphrase we read, Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus. Then you’ll live as you were meant to live.” What an interesting way to define salvation, living as you were meant to live.

I like that a lot, for it points to the notion that salvation is not just getting your ticket punched for a final stop in heaven. To be sure accepting Jesus as Master is the way to insure eternity with him and with the Father. And if you are here today and have never accepted that eternal salvation, have never surrendered yourself to Christ, never allowed him to become your master, that is where you need to begin. But that initial commitment is only a beginning. And those who allow Christ to truly become Master of their life will be both challenged to become vessels for his grace and rescued from that which binds them. Whether it be doubt or fear or hardship or pain or depression or addiction matters not. No matter what it is from which you need released, I bring you good news of great joy, believe on the Lord, the Master, Jesus Christ, allow him to control your life, and you will be saved, set free, for joyful obedience and abundant life, now and forever.

In his second letter to the Corinthian church Paul wrote these words which capture the very essence of the message I would leave with you this morning. “It started when God said, "Light up the darkness!" and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful. If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us. As it is, there's not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we're not much to look at. We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us - trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us - he lives!”

For your sake, and for the sake of the kingdom of God, let it be so in your life. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN.