WHAT MADE PAUL SING? – Acts 16:25; plus various passages

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on March 13, 2011 under 2011 |

Preached Sunday, March 13, 2011
from
Acts 16:25; plus various passages

Theme: In his letters, Paul let’s us know the things that he knew that enabled him to sing praises to God during a time of dark trial.

Listen to this sermon online!

(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

In Acts 16, we’re told of what must have seemed—on a human level—to have been one of the darkest trials of the apostle Paul’s life.

He and his ministry partner Silas were engaged in a very fruitful missionary ministry. They had been called by God to bring the gospel to Macedonia—the very fountain-head of Greek culture around the world. And their work brought them to Philippi—a major city of Macedonia and an honored Roman colony. Their work in Philippi had just begun to take hold when—it seems—disaster occurred!

They had led a slave girl to Jesus. This girl had been possessed by a spirit of divination; and had brought a great deal of income to her masters. The gospel that Paul and Silas preached had set her spirit free from the devil’s grip. But her masters were furious; and they brought the charge against the two missionaries that they were troubling the city and teaching customs that were contrary to the laws of Rome. The whole city went into an uproar over it; and, with dizzying swiftness, they were thrown into prison.

It seemed that things had been going so well. But now, Paul and Silas were sitting in a dark Philippian prison, with their feet fastened in the stocks and the jailer commanded to keep them securely. They had no idea what the outcome of it all may be. For all they knew, they could very well be facing execution the next morning. You can just imagine what a grim scene it must have been. The prison was dark; and it most likely stank in ways we wouldn’t care to consider. And there probably the sounds throughout it of other prisoners; moaning in pain from their own beatings and bonds, or weeping in fear over their own hopeless prospects.

But it’s then that we read the remarkable words of Acts 16:25; “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.”

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Now; I’ve always been fascinated by those words; but I read them again last week, and they seemed to strike me in a fresh new way. I began to ask myself, “What was it about the apostle Paul that would enable him to sing songs of praise to God during such a dark and uncertain trial? Paul was a man of remarkable courage and strength, of course. But he was still only human. Were there certain beliefs he held to that helped him through such times? Were there specific habits he kept? Were their certain spiritual resources he made use of that enabled him to face such a dark trial with such confident joy?”

And so, for the next few days afterwards, I spent time time searching through his New Testament letters to find clues to what it was that enabled him to sing praises to God in that dark ‘midnight’ of trial. I skimmed through his letters, and jotted down the things as I found them. I began to notice patterns in the things he wrote, and I arranged these verses according to those patterns. What I found was greatly encouraging!

This morning, I’m presenting the results of my search to you. And I’m not going to do much more today than simply read to you the things that Paul himself said.

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What things did Paul know that enabled him to sing praises to God while in prison? And what things can we learn from him that will sustain us in our own dark trials?

I found that . . .

I. PAUL BELIEVED THAT HIS TRIALS WERE DIVINELY PURPOSEFUL IN THE HAND OF GOD:

In Romans 5, he wrote

And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:3-5; emphasis added here and in all other quotes).

Paul didn’t see his trials as pointless. He believed that they were being used by God to produce something in him that was of eternal value. He went on to say;

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified (Romans 8:28-30).

The completeness of God’s providential rule over the things that happened to Paul was expressed in Ephesians 2;

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).

What a difference it made to know that the trials that God permitted to come into Paul’s life had a divine purpose for good! No wonder he could rejoice and sing!

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I also found that . . .

II. PAUL LOOKED ON HIS TRIALS AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR JESUS’ POWER TO BE DEMONSTRATED IN HIM:

In 2 Corinthians 1, he spoke of the “treasure” of the ministry of the gospel that had been entrusted to him; and he wrote

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh (2 Corinthians 4:7-11).

Those trials showed forth God’s power against the backdrop of Paul’s own weakness; and demonstrated that it truly was God who was at work in and through him. He wrote;

We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things (2 Corinthians 6:3-10).

He wrote that, in a time of deep trial, the Lord Jesus once spoke to him;

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

How strong did he believe the power of Christ in him to be? In Ephesians 3, he wrote;

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21).

Paul was able to sing in a time of trial, because that trial was an opportunity for the power of Jesus to shine forth in him.

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Another thing I discovered was that . . .

III. PAUL BELIEVED THAT GOD WAS USING HIS TRIALS TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL:

He believed that God opened doors through his trials that could never have been opened otherwise. In Philippians 1—while he was sitting in another prison cell somewhere;

But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear (Philippians 1:12-14 ).

Prison chains couldn’t prevent God from spreading the gospel of His Son through Paul. In 2 Timothy 2, he wrote;

Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory (2 Timothy 2:8-10).

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In reading his letters, we also find that his trials not only helped spread the gospel; but . . .

IV. PAUL REJOICED IN HOW GOD WAS USING HIS TRIALS TO STRENGTHENED THE FAITH OF OTHERS:

In the bigger picture of his trials, he could see that God was using them to build-up his brothers and sisters in Christ. He wrote to his Colossian brothers and sisters; and told them,

I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church . . . (Colossians 1:24).

The conviction that God was benefiting the church through his trials encouraged him greatly while in the midst of them. In 1 Thessalonians 3, he wrote;

. . . therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress we were comforted concerning you by your faith. For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord (1 Thessalonians 3:7-8).

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Those were things things that Paul believed about the trials themselves. But there were also certain things that sustained him personally and directly while in his trials. For example, we find that . . .

V. PAUL REMAINED CONFIDENT IN CHRIST’S LOVE FOR HIM WHILE IN THE MIDST OF HIS TRIALS:

In Romans 8, he writes;

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:37-39).

In 2 Timothy 1, he wrote;

For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day (2 Timothy 1:12).

We almost can’t read those words ourselves without wanting to sing the great hymn that comes from them, can we? And then, in 2 Timothy 4, he wrote;

But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! (2 Timothy 4:17-18).

The love of the Lord Jesus Himself for him was one great reason Paul could sing—even in the darkest of trials!

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Now; not only did that unfailing love sustain him; but we also find that . . .

VI. PAUL TRUSTED IN THE SPIRITUAL RESOURCES OF JESUS HIMSELF TO SUSTAIN HIM IN TRIALS:

In 2 Corinthians 1, he writes;

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).

Paul didn’t deny that the sufferings for Christ abounded. He was realistic about those sufferings. But they took his trust off of mere human resources and on the endless resources of Christ Himself. Just a few verses later, he wrote;

Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us . . . (2 Corinthians 1:9-10).

In Galatians 2:20—one of my personal favorite verses of the New Testament—he wrote;

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20).

He summed it up well in Philippians 4:11-13 when he said;

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:11-13).

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I think one of the greatest reasons he could sing in the midst of his trials was because . . .

VII. PAUL SAW HIS TEMPORARY TRIALS IN LIGHT OF THE PROSPECT OF ETERNAL GLORY IN CHRIST:

In Romans 8, he wrote;

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God (Romans 8:18-19).

‘The sons of God’ . . . that’s us, dear brothers and sisters! One day, our short time of trials will be over, and our time of eternal glory with Christ will begin! And that’s what we need to be looking forward to in our times of trial. In 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Paul wrote;

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

In 2 Corinthians 5, he wrote;

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. . . . So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:1, 6-8).

In Philippians 1, he wrote;

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).

In 2 Timothy 2, he wrote;

This is a faithful saying: . . . If we endure, we shall also reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:11, 13).

And in 2 Timothy 4—in what may well be his last great affirmation on earth before he laid down his life for Jesus, he wrote;

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Timothy 4:6-8)..

No wonder he could sing a song of victorious praise to God while in a prison cell!

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Now; Paul is our great example. But he’s a hard one to measure up to. If we don’t sing praises to God in the midst of every trial like he did, we shouldn’t get too hard on ourselves—or too hard on each other. We’re all God’s work in progress. But Paul did want his readers to strive to trust in Christ as he did.

VIII. AND SO, HE ENCOURAGED US EMBRACE THESE ATTITUDES

AS OUR OWN WHILE IN TIMES OF TRIAL:

We should, for example, affirm God’s divine purpose in our trials. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15,

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58).

We should see our trials as an opportunity for God to demonstrate Christ’s power in us. In Philippians 4, Paul writes;

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).

We should remember that God can use our trials to open doors for the message of the gospel—as Paul suggests in 2 Corinthians 2;

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place (2 Corinthians 2:14).

We should allow God use us to minister strength to others through our own times of trial. In Ephesians 5, he writes;

And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God (Ephesians 5:18-21).

And in Colossians 3 he writes;

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord (Colossians 3:16).

We should learn to keep confident in Jesus’ love in the midst of our trials; as Paul says in 2 Timothy 1;

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7);

and in Titus 2;

. . . looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works (Titus 2:13-14).

We should rely on the limitless spiritual resources of Christ to sustain with all that we need in every trial; as Paul teaches us in Galatians 5;

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. . . . But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:16, 22-24);

and in Ephesians 6;

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand (Ephesians 6:10-13).

And finally, we should be sure to see our trials in light of ultimate victory in Christ. As Paul writes in Galatians 6;

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart (Galatians 6:9);

and in Colossians 3—a passage that, perhaps, best sums up how we can all learn to sing praises to God in our own times of trial;

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3:1-4).

May God establish our hearts in these things. And then, we too will be victoriously praying and singing hymns to God—even in the dark ‘midnight’ of trial.