Bible Lesson: Miracles Of The Power Of The Holy Spirit: Prison Doors Opened.
Bible Messenger: Earthquake.
Bible Location: Philippi.
Bible Text:
Acts 16:22-34 KJV
22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.
23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.
27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
Acts 16:22-24 KJV
22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.
23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
The Apostle Paul, had delivered a young girl from the spirit of divination, and in anger her handlers, who had made money by her predictions, got the city magistrates angered.
Paul and Silas were beaten for setting a young girl free of demon possession.
They laid “many stripes upon them.”
Early Christians, were bold in their Christian confession, even if it meant, martyrdom.
Revelation 12:11 KJV
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Have you suffered for humble, faithful Christian witnessing?
If not, why not?
Witnessing of your faith, is a command of our Lord, to every Christian.
Matthew 10:32,33 KJV
32 Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven.
33 But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 12:36,37 KJV
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Luke 9:26 KJV
For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.
Luke 12:8,9 KJV
8 Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God:
9 But he that denieth Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
Romans 10:9-11 KJV
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.
Philippians 2:10,11 KJV
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
I John 2:23 KJV
Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
I John 4:15 KJV
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
As you read these words, do you realize that Christian brothers and sisters around the world are being tortured for their belief in the Lord Jesus Christ?
Acts 16:25 KJV
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
Why did they do that? They did that because they had done it in the market place just a few hours before! That was their “custom,” to bring praise and honor to the living God.
And now their bodies bloodied from beatings, in stocks in prison, they did what they were customed to do, praise God.
When you are in beaten down, what do you do?
There is victory in praising the Lord! Is there any wonder why the evil one, makes sure in many, many churches today, there is “no-time,” for the people to stand, with lifted hands, to praise the Lord!
STOP HERE, AND READ THE POSTING:... Worship
Acts 16:26 KJV
And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.
What is the extent of the Power Of The Holy Spirit?
It is without limit, it is without measurement, it is beyond human comprehension.
If only we would believe, if only we would yield, if only we would be willing to receive, the wonderful power of God the Holy Spirit, more prison doors would be opened, and more forever would be set free.
One day, and sooner than we can think, the Holy Spirits power will be noticed by all.
For the graves of righteous dead will explode open, as the rapture of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ takes place.
I Thessalonians 4:16-18 NLT
16 For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.
17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
18 So encourage each other with these words.
This could happen, before you come to the end of this writing. Are you ready to meet the Lord?
Acts 16:27 KJV
And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
Death was the penalty for prisoners escaped, and the Apostle, and the prison keeper knew it well.
Acts 16:28,29 KJV
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
Amidst all the quaking, the voice of Paul could be heard above it all, calling the jailer to do himself no harm, because they were all there. None had fled.
The worship of Paul and Silas, had changed the atmosphere in the prison house.
Acts 16:30 KJV
And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, if we think for one moment, that we can effect the lives of men, without the miraculous power of God the Holy Spirit, we are at best misguided, and mistaken.
The jailer had no doubt heard some of the singing and worship of Paul and Silas, and without doubt he had seen the God of the two, loose them from their prison bonds.
The jailer, wanted to know this God for himself.
Acts 16:31,32 KJV
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
Whereas once the gospel, was denied by the jailer and his house, something on that dark night, filled with pain and suffering hallowed by worship to the living God, something happened.
And that something, was someone, God the Holy Spirit.
Oh, how, He would love to once again have His rightful place among God's brethren, but for the most part He is shut out.
And what is the result, men grouping in darkness, imprisoned with no hope of freedom.
Isaiah 42:1 KJV
1 “Look at My servant, whom I strengthen. He is My chosen one, who pleases Me. I have put My Spirit upon him....
7 You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.
Isaiah 58:6 KJV
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that, (The Psychologist/ Psychiatrist/and Doctor) break every yoke?
NO! "and that, "ye" break every yoke.”
Isaiah 61:1 KJV
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me; because the LORD hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; (Prophetically true of our Lord, but also true of His servants.)
Mark 16:17-18 KJV (Great Commission to believers.)
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
(For the explanation of this verse see the blog.... Kept By The Power Of God )
Matthew 10:1,8 KJV
1 And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Mark 3:14,15 KJV
14 And He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach,
15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
Mark 6:7,13 KJV
7 And He called unto Him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;
13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
Luke 10:19 KJV
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Acts 16:33,34 KJV
33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
If one would caption these two verses, no doubt it would be, “Christianity, brings real change in the lives of individuals!”
The Jailer, and his household, washed the wounds of Paul and Silas, and fed them. Now in their new found faith, they were baptized, and rejoiced. Did they all sing the songs that Paul and Silas hand sung just a few hours before while in prison, yes, but now with new brothers and sisters in the faith. And they did not sing alone for the very angels of heaven, in chorus to dear to be heard by mortals, shouted to the one enthroned in glory, that more dear children, had with all their hearts turned to Him.
Amen
Salvation Prayer
