What the Mission field looks like.
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 everybody'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?" (You can read the whole passage below...) (Acts16:6-40) |
We live in a culture that elevates comfort, safety and security above all. We spend our money and time to ensure we have those three things, often at the cost of other things. The challenge of sharing the gospel in every mission context is that Jesus calls us to live far outside those preoccupations. Paul and Silas land up angering the people to whom they come to minister and they find themselves far from our cultural ideals: hated, beaten and imprisoned - things we take pains to avoid.
As we read the account from the early missional church there are two powerful challenges for us and one remarkable encouragement.
The first challenge is that Paul and Silas are so intent on taking the gospel and so resolved to listen to the Holy Spirit that they are even prepared to risk life and limb to ensure the spread of the gospel of Jesus. They are prepared to risk it all to ensure those who, like the slave girl, are in bondage are freed by Jesus.
The second challenge is that Paul and Silas are singing songs in prison! I can almost imagine them naked and bruised with bleeding lips and swollen eyes. But they're worshipping! The heart of mission is worship and not worship dependant on our circumstances but worship that draws from the goodness of God despite our circumstances. It's worship on an eternal scale because we believe that "for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
The encouragement for us is this: that when we're prepared to risk it all, God uses our testimony to win over the unwinnable into his kingdom. This jailer would have been a tough man, a soldier, well practiced in making people suffer and die. He was a man who had seen and done it all and in many ways he was inconceivably far from God. Yet God uses this deeply traumatic situation to achieve his purposes and to give him a second chance. That is good news indeed!
The mission field will rarely be easy. To follow Jesus will sometimes take us far from home; it will always take us out of our comfort zones. But God will use the faithful witness of those who listen to the Spirit's voice to draw his lost sheep home.
O Lord! May we follow wherever you may lead us.
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Brent is one of the pastors at Protea Valley Church in Bellville. He is married and has two boys and is passionate about cycling and rock climbing.
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AC 16:6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 This girl 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 troubled 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 the owners of the slave girl 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. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 Upon receiving such 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 everybody'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 family 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 family.
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 encouraged them. Then they left.
