Welcome to
Zion Bread of Life Christian Church

Wednesday, 28th February 2024

Rev Daniel Xi An Poon

Acts 16:27-34 True Joy 使徒行傳16:27-34真正的喜樂

V27-28 Live in ‘Supposing’ and Hurt Oneself 活在以為中傷害自己

“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. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”

「禁卒一醒，看見監門全開，以為囚犯已經逃走，就拔刀要自殺。保羅大聲呼叫說：不要傷害自己！我們都在這裡。」

When we are willing to allow the Holy Spirit to help us, then our lives will bring joy from within. So what is true joy? How can we receive true joy that is from the Holy Spirit? We have a lot of ‘supposing’ from our experiences, our logic, our judgement, our knowledge… we ‘suppose’ we know what to do, we ‘suppose’ we understand the situation, just like how the prison keepers ‘supposed’ they did not have a way out and were about to kill themselves.

The prison keepers saw the prison opened and they ‘supposed’ the prisoners would run away, and they ‘supposed’ they will lose their job and lose their lives, and they ‘supposed’ their families will be in danger. They ‘supposed’ they had no way out of this so they were about to kill themselves. We also live in a world of ‘supposing’, we don’t know what is in the future, but we make investment, we make decision, we follow the trend of this world, with out knowledge, our experience, our expectation, our logic… We fail to remember our God does supernatural things, and He can make the impossible become possible. We are afraid of losing, we are afraid of lacking, and we have forgotten about the almighty God.

V29-31 Fell Down Believe in the Lord, Household Saved 俯伏信主全家得福

“Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? So they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

「禁卒叫人拿燈來，就跳進去，戰戰兢兢地俯伏在保羅、西拉面前，又領他們出來，說：二位先生，我當怎樣行才可以得救？他們說：當信主耶穌，你和你一家都必得救。」

The keepers of the prison were about to kill themselves, they were the authority over the prisoners, but now, they fell down before their prisoners, Paul and Silas, and they asked a very important question, how to be saved. Because by this time, they realised that everything they ‘supposed’ was nothing like what they experienced and understood, they realised their limitation and they were willing to ask for a way out. Because they saw the lives of Paul and Silas, they were prisoners, but they were full of joy, they sang and praised, and even after the prison doors were supernaturally opened, they did not run away. Even when their prison keepers were about to kill themselves, they tried to save them!

The lives of Paul and Silas changed the perspectives of the prison keepers, they knew Paul and Silas had something they did not have. So when they asked them, Paul and Silas told them to believe in the Lord Jesus. Do we really believe in our Lord Jesus? Maybe we did in the past, but do we still believe? We must stop living in the logic, we must stop living in the past, and we must start believing!

V32-34

“Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.”

「他們就把主的道講給他和他全家的人聽。當夜，就在那時候，禁卒把他們帶去，洗他們的傷，他和屬乎他的人立時都受了洗。於是禁卒領他們上自己家裡去，給他們擺上飯，他和全家因為信了神都很喜樂。」