On Time

Acts 16:36-38

And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace.

My, this sort of thing very much reminds me of the old gospel song that tells how God is always on time. It may be four days late or a night later. But is he not the God of the delay also. 2 Corinthians 7:8-16 seems to agree. Here Paul is unrepentant for his letter which made the church sorry. Indeed, it is for a reason and but for a season. So, the purpose of such was for their repentance. But this is not a sorry as the world does not yet as these magistrates have been here. After the unfair trial and punishment, the least they could have done was to come themselves. Yet they bothered not to even darken the door of the prison much less to acknowledge the apostles' pain. It seems they were not very sorry for what had been done at all. So now you can see why Paul is so fixated on the little word sorry. He means it in a Godly manner so that he might not damage the church. Indeed, he neither paid for nor received payment for such himself. For behold, all his damage payment came to him directly from the Lord. How many of you enjoy receiving these sorts of things. Here the council is very much standing on the payee end of things. So did the Corinthian church once for what had been done. But look how Paul with Jesus's help will gladly sign that blank check over to Titus. The text shows that he needed such more than Paul.

But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out.

Now I know some of you are wondering what rabbit trail I have wandered down. Since we are visiting neither Alice nor Wonderland, let us go on further. Here, Paul makes the distinction between repentance, salvation, and death. Yes, I know the mad queen said, 'off with their head!' But look with me here at what will happen. Do you not just love how Paul starts raging like some wild thing at the council. I for one appreciate the situation and I am not even in the text. How many of you understand what he is going through here. He follows Jesus, but there is a situation that irks him and badly too. From the looks of it, Paul is calling forth all the wrong things he has suffered. He ranges from carefulness, self-clearing, indignation, fear, fervent desire, and zeal to even revenge. When we walk with Jesus, such things are natural feelings indeed. What I mean is this; sometimes we find ourselves in sorry situations by no fault of our own. We need God's help both to keep ourselves under control and to bring us out. Here we see the care of God's sight mentioned to help us through. Remember where it mentions if we would judge ourselves, we escape divine judgment. For in the sight of God is self-approval found. We can be our own worst critic. Does not the moving of God's Spirit indeed bring relief, unto the people of God. Come on now. Let us not be slow to understand what the Spirit says unto the churches.

And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.

See, here is a sort of a blood of Abel situation. But how many of you know that God speaks better words than this still. When he is done, there will be neither council nor prisoners to worry about. There is only Titus and his coming to the church. See these apostles which are also citizens of Rome. Did I not tell you something did not quite add up. Here the apostles are in a Roman colony as citizens from the far-off place of Jerusalem. There is a strange believer in town with an even funnier name like that of an emperor. So, it is not hard to believe that God has been seen again among men. Could it be you had the wrong sight all alone. Now there abounds comfort, joy, and refreshing in the situation. Here Paul boasts to all who listen, 'behold, I have found Titus.' Well, he might have found him seeing the man had been there all along. More than that he also found the church and the Lord. So now there is great confidence found amongst the church that was not there before. See how abundance, obedience, the attitude of fear and trembling, and receiving God's apostles are linked. The Word of God affected their whole situation. See how their deliverance came more so to dismiss both the wronged and the doer thereof before the Lord.