God’s Power Opens Doors!

1st Sunday after Epiphany, 1/10/21 Acts 16:25-34 God’s Power Opens Doors! I. Of prisons, so that his word is proclaimed II. Of hearts, so that despairing sinners receive saving hope “When opportunity knocks, open the door.” I’m sure you’d agree with that old adage. It isn’t often that the same opportunity comes along, so you better take it when it appears. But let’s be honest. We don’t always do that. For instance, we have an opportunity to do something good for ourselves or for someone else, and we let it slip past us. We’re too busy. We have other more important things to do. Someone else will do it. And the good that we could have done is left undone. But there are times when we answer the door. We take advantage of the opportunity. And we reap the benefit. There’s a good deal of satisfaction in what we’ve accomplished. And that’s a good thing. Unless it spills over into sinful pride. We want all the credit and we want it to come from others. It isn’t immediately apparent from the verses of Acts 16 before us, but this event marked a huge opportunity in the life of the Apostle Paul, in the history of the Christian Church on earth. Prior to this, Paul had been carrying on mission work on the continent of Asia. But the Lord via a dream led Paul to take the gospel to the continent of Europe. Paul and his companion Silas were now working in the city of Philippi. That work had enjoyed some success. I imagine they enjoyed a good deal of godly satisfaction from their work. But then it appeared to come to a screeching halt. Paul and Silas were bound and imprisoned. I don’t know about you, but that would have caused me to throw in my missionary towel. But the Lord had other plans in mind. In fact, he used this tragic turn of events to open doors, literally and spiritually. And that truth would be good for us to take to heart this morning. God’s power opens doors. Let’s see what I mean as we focus on this portion of God’s word this morning. Part I. There are times when we’re tempted to read an account of the Bible as if it occurred in a vacuum. What do I mean by that? Well, we read the account, often knowing many of the details because this isn’t the first time we’ve encountered it. And, therefore, we know how it turns out. So, we focus only on what happened and fail to consider what might have been going through the hearts and minds of the people involved. As I stated before, if what happened to Paul in this event would have happened to me, I might have thrown in my missionary towel. First, Paul and Silas had been imprisoned unjustly and illegally. They had been accused of starting a violent mob scene in the city of Philippi, when the only thing they had done was to free a slave girl from demon possession. In fact, they were severely beaten and flogged. And then they were imprisoned. What’s more, they were thrown into an inner cell of the prison and fastened to the stocks. That was a glaring violation of their rights as Roman citizens. If you had been Paul, how would you have felt, chained in an inner cell in complete darkness, bruised and bleeding, when the only thing you were guilty of was doing the Lord’s work? Would you have hated your accusers? Would you have been angry with Jesus? If so, listen to the response of Paul and Silas, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” They were singing hymns instead of cursing their accusers and their God. Amazing! And the other prisoners were listening. Opportunity was knocking. And God was opening doors. Spiritually. And then literally. “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.” The foundations of the prison were shaken but the jail didn’t collapse on the prisoners. In fact, the prison doors flew open and chains fell off the prisoners. God was opening doors. But what we would expect to happen didn’t. No jailbreak occurred. Paul told the jailer, “We are all here!” From the way the jailer responded, it’s likely that at least some of these prisoners were guilty of a capital offense. And yet, when the opportunity to flee presented itself, they acted as if they were still locked down. I see the power of God again. Likewise with Paul and Silas. They had done nothing wrong. In fact, their rights as Roman citizens had been grossly violated. But they stayed right there because they saw an opportunity to proclaim the word of God. A few minutes earlier they were doing so with their hymn singing. They would spend what I imagine was a few more hours proclaiming the word of God to the jailer and his family. And the credit for all these blessings belongs to God. God’s power opens doors—doors of prisons, so that his word is proclaimed. God’s power is still opening doors. I’m guessing you would agree with that statement. In fact, you could tell me how he has done that very thing for you, probably more than once. But, when he does open a door for you and there’s an opportunity for you to speak a message to someone, what do they hear? Is it always what the Lord would want them to hear? Imagine the comfort the other prisoners received from the hymn singing of Paul and Silas. Is that what others hear from you? Or, do they often hear your words of complaint, of discontent, of hopelessness, of disgust? In other words, are your words helpful to others or hurtful? Do your words lead others to Jesus or away from him? Think of how often God has opened a door for us and we blew it. But Jesus never did. He always said and did the right thing, the perfect thing. God’s power opened doors for him, and he walked right in and did the right thing. And when the opportunity appeared for him to sacrifice himself for all our sins, including all our botched opportunities, he literally walked through the door of Pilate’s courtroom on his way to Calvary’s cross for us. And then he rose again to make us his own eternally. And now Jesus opens doors for us to proclaim that saving word to others. Part II. A defining moment is often described as an event which changed the life of a person from that time on. Have you had such a moment in your life? Maybe you have. Maybe you haven’t. But now, let me ask you: As a Christian, have you had a defining moment? You definitely have. It was the moment you came to faith in Jesus as your Savior. For the vast majority of you here, that happened at your baptism. That moment literally changed your life forever. The jailer in this event surely would admit that this was the defining moment in his life. When he discovered the prison doors open, he decided that the best course of action for him to take was to end his life. You see, Roman law stated that if a prisoner escaped, the jailer received the prisoner’s punishment. If some of these prisoners were guilty of a capital offense and were on “death row,” the jailer would have taken their place. He quickly concluded it would be better for him to take his own life. But Paul intervened. Better, but God and his power intervened. “When [the jailer] saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, ‘Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!’” God’s power opened doors and Paul saw an opportunity, an opportunity that only existed for a few seconds. Any hesitation and it would be too late for the jailer, eternally too late. And the jailer complied with Paul’s request. Our text states that he “fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’” His question indicates that this was a come to Jesus moment for him. He realized he had been on the brink of meeting his Maker and he was terrified. And so he asked the question that naturally flows from an unbelieving heart. “What must I do to be saved?” By the grace of God, you and I know the answer to that question. Nothing! There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Contrary to what most people believe, we can’t earn our way to heaven. Paul quickly supplied the only answer. Believe in Jesus. The opportunity was right there in front of Paul and Paul didn’t hesitate for a moment. He quickly shared the saving gospel of Jesus with him. That good news moved the jailer to invite Paul into his house, which was likely attached to the prison. God’s power opened the door of the jailer’s house so that Paul and Silas could share the message of our sins and the punishment they deserve, and how Jesus took that punishment on himself for all people. God’s power in his word opened the door of their hearts. “Then immediately he and all his family were baptized.” And then God’s power in the sacrament of Holy Baptism did the same. It worked saving faith in the hearts of the jailer and his family. A man who had been this close to eternal death was now guaranteed eternal life. His despair had been replaced with saving hope. That’s what God’s power does. It opens doors—the doors of people’s hearts, so that despairing sinners receive saving hope. You and I are living, breathing examples of the power of God at work. His power has opened the door of your heart to receive faith in Jesus and the gifts of forgiveness and eternal life. And that makes you a perfect candidate for God to use in opening the door of another person’s heart. In the week ahead, look for opportunities to share a message of hope with someone who is despairing. Do so, knowing that God’s power is at work. He deserves all the credit. Amen.