Filled XV - "Doing the Right Thing"

**Act 16:16-36**
**Intro: **As we go into our story this morning and see what’s involve, we’ll see as a believer there are those who will hate you just because you have given your life to Jesus Christ and have chosen to take a stand for him. Let’s look *at * *_Matthew 10: 22_ (NLT)*
**22 ****And all nations _will hate you_ because you are my followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved.**
*_*Matthew 24: 9*_*** (NLT)**
**9 ****“Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You _will be hated_ all over the world because you are my followers.**
*_*James 1:2-3*_*
**2 ****Dear brothers and sisters,[****a** (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A2-3&version=NLT#fen-NLT-30229a)**]**** when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. *3 *For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.**
*_*Acts 16: 16*_*** ****One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes.**

* Now this slave girl had a demon spirit that was* *operating through her and cause her to be able tell the future of people. Which in turn her master was exploiting her unfortunate condition for _his on personal gain_.

**17 ****She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you _how to be saved.”_**

* Here we see where Satan recognize that Paul and Silas were true men of God and was living for him and that they were a treat to his early kingdom

**22 ****A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten _with wooden rods_. *23 *They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. *24 *So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their _feet in the stocks_.**

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Praise God, now that the young lady has been delivered from the demon spirit and set free that was operating through her. Her master has become very upset with Paul and Silas and wanted something to be done to them.
**25 **Around *midnigh*t Paul and Silas were *prayin*g and *singing* hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. *26*** **Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the _chains of *every prisoner*_* *fell off!

* Here we see that at midnight that Paul and Silas made a _personal decision _to pray and sing unto the Lord. They could have complained or say, “why me Lord”, but they chose not to. So, there are times in our lives we are face with a midnight experience how do we react to it.

**30 **Then he 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, along with _everyone_ in your household.”**** ****32**** ****And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household**.

* While in Philippi Paul and Silas’s reputation was well known. When the jailer realized his own condition and need, he was willing to risked everything to find the answer.

**33 ****Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were _immediately baptized._**** ****34 ****He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his _entire household_ rejoiced because they all believed in God.**
**35 ****The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let those men go!”**** ****36 ****So the jailer told Paul, “The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace**.”


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*_*Discusion Questions: *_*

What part of the message spoke to your heart?

Do you consider yourself a threat to Satan kingdom?

Let it be understood that as Christian you will be hated for your stands for your belief in Jesus Christ. *(James1:2-3)*

Keep in mind that you may be the person that God uses to cause someone else to become free.

Remember you can choose to praise and worship God in the mist of your situation, or you can just complain