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Coming Out Ministries

Ronald Woolsey

The All-Important Question!

Hello friends, this is Ron Woolsey of the Narrow Way Ministry and pastor of the Marshal Arkansas Seventh-day Adventist Church and speaker of the Sure Word of Prophecy radio broadcast.

I want to share with you a message today that is based upon the principles that I discovered as I was studying my way to the Lord some 18 years ago.

These are foundational principles upon which my faith was built.

Now I didn't prepare this study 18 years ago, but this study does cover those principles that were so vital for me in helping me to decide and choose to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

I would like to invite you to join me in a word of prayer as we begin this study.

Father in heaven, once again we come to you for enlightenment through the guidance of your Holy Spirit as we open your word today.

Please bless us accordingly, we pray, in Jesus name, Amen.

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter 16.

We're going to look at a story here of Paul and Silas.

You remember how Paul and Silas were traveling the Gentile world preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, turning the world upside down with the gospel.

As is so often the case with God's people, and we are told in the Bible that all who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution and this is the case with Paul and Silas.

In this story of Acts chapter 16 they had been preaching in the city of Philippi for some weeks, a couple weeks.

In this city of Philippi on the Sabbath day, they had a worship service out of the city by a riverside where a group of women resorted to pray.

After which they had a baptismal service which involved a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira.

Accepting then an invitation to her house for another prayer meeting, they were intercepted by a certain young lady possessed with a spirit who brought her masters much gain by fortune telling.

She began following Paul and Silas for many days, making quite an embarrassing scene, until finally Paul commanded the spirit in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her, and he came out of her the same hour.

In retaliation her masters instigated their public humiliation by having them stripped and beaten and cast into prison where they were secured in the inner prison with their feet fast in the stocks.

And now if you will join me in the story in the Bible, verse 25 of Acts chapter 16, we read that at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God and the prisoners heard them.

Now this is the same Paul who wrote the fruits of the Spirit to be love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.

And as I read this I note that they're up at midnight.

But you notice in the story that they had been beaten, and their feet were made fast in the stocks.

I imagine that their arms were secured against the wall, as I've seen in a prison in Israel.

There are these iron hooks that are mounted in the wall.

The prisoners hands are chained up against these.

So Paul and Silas were in a very uncomfortable position I'm sure.

I believe that every fiber of their being wanted to cry out in pain.

They were inclined to mourn and groan in their discomfort, but I like to think they decided that they would just make a joyful noise rather than a mournful noise and this is why they were still praying and singing praises unto God at midnight.

Now notice that Paul and Silas were not preaching to the prisoners or were they?

Paul and Silas were actually just living their religion.

You know, I believe that we Christians may be at times the only Bible that someone may ever read.

People like to watch people, and where someone might not listen to anything, watch anything, read anything, or go anywhere, or talk to anyone about religion, they can't help but notice it in a godly Christian person.

It says here the prisoners heard them, they got the message, they saw Christianity in the lives of Paul and Silas.

In verse 26, suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's bands were loosed.

Now what would you think would happen if everyone's bands were loosed?

In a normal situation I believe the prisoners would escape.

I think that I probably would have been tempted to escape.

I know I have been in jail a couple times in the past and once I was offered my freedom the jailer came to me and said my jail is full I need to let somebody go what are you in here for anyway and I told him I declared my innocence it was a very believable story and by the way it was true and he just said well listen I'll let you go just make sure you're back in court in 2 weeks I didn't ask him something very stupid I said could I get a ride to the other side of town where my car is parked?

He looked at me kind of funny and he said, Sir, the door is open.

Do you want to go or would you rather stay?

And so when I read this story, it is very striking to me that everyone's bands were loosed, but as we read on, we find that no 1 left.

Now This situation is quite unlike that of Peter.

You remember when Peter was being delivered from prison at 1 time.

The angel, it seems, tiptoed in, aroused him, shook him, and just said, shh, and be quiet, and led him out.

It's as if he had WD-40 with him or something.

The doors opened noiselessly and closed behind them and Peter found himself out on the street.

But God works in different ways for different reasons friends and we will see that here.

There was a great noise, a great earthquake with this deliverance and the foundations of the prison were shaken, all the doors were opened, everyone's bands were loosed, 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.

But Paul cried with a loud voice saying, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here.

Now why would the prisoner have killed himself, you might ask.

Well in those days and in that culture, anyone allowing an escape of a prisoner on his watch faced a certain public humiliating execution.

Obviously the jailer thought it would be better to just avoid the public humiliation and just execute himself.

But you notice that Paul cried that we are all here.

And I believe that it went something like this.

When a person becomes a Christian, he becomes a child of God, King of Kings, Lord of Lords of the entire universe.

And if we as Christians really have a sense of who we are and of what we have been adopted into, then we should have a dignity almost a royal bearing because we are royal children.

The Bible refers to us as even a royal priesthood.

We should have a peace and a calm about ourselves and assurance and this is what was exemplified through Paul and Silas as they were singing and praying in prison.

They were calm, they had assurance, they knew who they were, they were not in a panic.

They stood out among the prisoners with his dignity and peace and calm.

And in times of great trauma and tragedy, as could be seen in a great earthquake, it appears that the prisoners looked to those men who were calm and had it all together for leadership and guidance.

Paul and Silas stayed put and all the prisoners did the same, not even necessarily realizing what they were doing.

For this reason, Paul was able to say, Do thyself no harm for we are all here.

Then we read in verse 29 that the jailer called for a light and sprang in and came trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas and brought them out and said, Sirs, What must I do to be saved?

This is a very interesting question also.

You would think he would have said, what must I do to repay you or show my gratitude for saving my life for all of you remaining here in prison and not escaping.

It appears to me that the jailer was quite familiar with the message of Paul and Silas.

He probably had been listening for the 2 weeks that they were in Philippi.

He no doubt was under great conviction as he listened to the story of Jesus Christ and his plan of salvation.

But, obviously he had not yet made a decision for Jesus.

And now he sees Jesus for the first time so fully through the persons of Paul and Silas.

He saw that Jesus truly loved him and cared for him and worked in a way to spare his life.

And so when he said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

I believe the jailer knew exactly what he was asking.

He was now ready to take that step of accepting Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.

And friends, This is the all-important question on the hearts of many true and honest people today, and it has been clearly answered for us in the Scriptures.

But before we look at the answer, I want to explore the depths of this question.

Do I need to go to church more regularly?

Do I need to be involved in doing more good?

This is the all-important question every living soul should consider, and it has been clearly answered for us.

But before we look at the answer, there is a question we need to ask.

When I was growing up in the South, it was quite common for people to come up to me and say, Ron, have you been saved?

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The All-Important Question!

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