Sermon Tone Analysis

God's Way to Be a Great Dad

Acts 16:23-34

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - June 21, 2015

BACKGROUND:

*In Acts 16, Paul and his mission team were trying to find out where the Lord wanted them to go next.

Then in vs. 9-10:

9.

A vision appeared to Paul in the night.

A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us.''

10.

Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

*So they went to Philippi.

It was one of the leading cities of Macedonia.

There in Philippi they began to share the gospel, and the people were responding to the good news about Jesus Christ.

*But starting in Acts 16:16, they ran into serious opposition: "Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling."

This woman was a fortune-teller by trade.

And she was very persuasive, because she was possessed by an evil spirit.

*Verse 17 tells us that as she followed Paul's team, she cried out: "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.''

Of course that statement was true, but the Lord doesn't need any help from the devil!

And partnership with evil is the last thing God wants for His church, because it makes evil seem good.

It disguises evil, and makes it seem innocent, much like a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Jesus warned us about things like that in Matthew 7:15.

*Partnership with evil also puts a stain on the cause of Christ.

That's why in vs. 18, Paul cast out that evil spirit.

Please listen to vs. 17-22 this morning from the New Living Translation:

17.

She followed along behind us shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved."

18.

This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and spoke to the demon within her. "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her," he said.

And instantly it left her.

19.

Her masters' hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace.

20.

"The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!" they shouted.

21.

They are teaching the people to do things that are against Roman customs."

22.

A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them to be stripped and beaten with wooden rods.

*With this background in mind, let's start reading in vs. 23, thinking about God's way to be a great dad.

INTRODUCTION:

*Dads: This is a day to honor you, and we ought to honor our fathers.

It's one of the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:12 says: "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you."

*Like the people in the video this morning, the older I get, the more I appreciate my dad.

Most of us are the same way.

Here's part of an article from a Danbury, Connecticut newspaper.

It traces our thoughts about Dad though the years:

When we're 4 years old: "My daddy can do anything."

8 years old: "My dad doesn't know quite everything."

16 years old: "Dad?

-- Hopelessly out-of-date."

25 years: "He knows a little bit about it, but not much."

30 years: "Maybe we ought to find out what Dad thinks."

50 years old: "I wonder what Dad would have thought about that.

He was pretty smart."

65 years old: "I'd give anything if Dad were here so I could talk this over with him.

I really miss that man." (1)

*Isn't that the truth?

I appreciate my dad more than ever.

So dads we honor you here today.

And because you are here today, I believe that you want to be all you should be as a dad.

You want to be the best dad you can possibly be, and God's Word shows us how.

1. First: We have to stop following misguided feelings.

*You may be heading toward disaster this morning.

This jailer certainly was after the earthquake.

And it was all because he was following his misguided feelings.

We see this truth in vs. 26-27:

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 chains were loosed.

27.

And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.

Pastor Ken Gehrels explained: "Earthquakes happened frequently in that part of the world, not at all unusual.

But it was a big problem if the jail fell apart, and all the prisoners escaped.

That was a huge concern, because under Roman law, when a prisoner escaped, the jailer had to serve the sentence.

So, the jailer reached for his sword to kill himself.

Lesser of two evils he must have thought."

(2)

*But what a terrible mistake he was making!

The jailer felt like there was no hope.

He felt like he was doing the best thing, but his feelings were wrong.

*The problem with a lot of people today is they are basing major life decisions simply on their feelings.

They are basing major life decisions on their perceptions of the moment.

But feelings can change in an instant of time.

Vital information could be just around the corner, so basing our decisions only on our feelings is a recipe for disaster.

*The best thing that can ever happen to anyone was about to happen to that jailer.

And think how close he was to total disaster.

He had his sword out, and he was ready to kill himself.

He was inches away from killing himself and devastating his family.

But that's not the worst of it.

The jailer was seconds away from spending all eternity in hell.

And it was all because he was following his misguided feelings.

*Then suddenly, God gave the jailer a warning in vs. 28, and thank God, he took it to heart "Paul called with a loud voice, saying, 'Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.'''

*Here is a good warning for us today: "Do yourself no harm!"

Stop basing your decisions on misguided, selfish feelings, and start basing them on the Word of God.

That's why Proverbs 3 tells us:

5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;

6. in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

*How can we be better dads?

-- Stop following our misguided feelings.

2. And start seeking godly guidance.

*That's what the jailer did in vs. 29-30:

29.

Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

30.

And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?''

*We all need godly guidance.

We all need spiritual leaders like Paul and Silas who can help show us the way to go.

We all need people who are wiser and godlier than we are, people who know the truth and are living the truth as they grow closer to the Lord.

*When you have a big decision to make, and especially when you find yourself in a crisis, don't cut yourself off from godly people.

Make the effort to find some godly guidance.

The Lord will help us to do it.

God had Paul and Silas there for this jailer, and He will have someone there for us.