In The Meantime

Scripture:

Acts 16:25

And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

 

Theme:

In The Meantime

 

Introduction:

• The Acts of the Apostles was written by Dr. Luke, the same writer of the Gospel of St. Luke, who was understood to be a physician from Troas.
• Luke used the book of Acts to capture the actions and travels of the Apostles of Jesus, the Christ, with extensive attention upon Paul. Luke began to travel with Paul from Troas after the occasion of Luke’s conversion to Christianity.  From this point Luke was present either as a traveling companion or an observer for much of Paul’s remaining travels from that point.
• Our Scripture is found around the middle of the Book of Acts in Chapter 16.
  • Before the Scripture:
    • A woman possessed with a spirit of divination who performed soothsaying, told fortunes, for the financial gain of her masters met Paul and those traveling with him. Paul grieved for the woman and commanded that the spirit leaves her in the name of Jesus, which it did.  She took the master’s income by loosing the spirit from the woman.
    • However, when it was told to the magistrates, Paul and Silas were imprisoned because of their teaching of customs that are not acceptable for Romans.
    • Jailer was instructed to jail Paul and Silas, and he put them in the INNER jail and put stocks on their feet.
  • After the Scripture:
    • As it says in Acts 16:26, “And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.”
    • Woke the jailer to his and his household’s soul-saving experience. Paul stopped him from killing himself when he woke up thinking that his prisoners had escaped.  Paul exclaimed to him in verse 28, “Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.”
    • They had a joyous meal in the “fellowship hall” of the jailer’s house.

 

Body:

“In the Meantime”

• “Meantime” is a word that literally means “middle time” and can translate to mean “time in the middle”. Therefore, “In the Meantime” can closely translate to “ In the time in the middle”.
• Other closely related words and phrases in the English language include “in-between time”, “meanwhile”, and “waiting”…a definition is “a word or phrase acknowledging or defining a portion of the period of time between two events, either two different events or the origin and conclusion of the same event”.
• Examples of “in the meantime”
  • Everyday Life:
    • I could not wait until I went to college, but, IN THE MEANTIME, I had to make good grades in high school.
    • Because of how anxious I was to get to see the end of the movie, I had to go get something to eat in order to overcome the time of the commercials IN THE MEANTIME.
• • The Christian:
    • I have prayed for deliverance from this infirmity. IN THE MEANTIME, it’s hard to be patient and just “believe God”.
    • I believe that Jesus is coming back, but why do I have to go through so much IN THE MEANTIME.
  • The Old Testament:
    • Job said in Job 14:14, “all the days of my appointed time will I WAIT, till my change come”
    • Isaiah said in Isaiah 40:31, “But they that WAIT upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
  • The New Testament:
    • Our scripture – the two outer events of “In the meantime”
    • Before/after, put in jail/freed from jail, guilty/innocent, bondage/freedom

 

“And at midnight”

BEING IN THE “MEAN” or MIDDLE – There is high value in being “the middle” for the Christian:

• In our scripture, there are some signs of BEING IN THE MIDDLE:
  • Paul and Silas were in the midst of their jail sentence
  • They prayed and sang praises at midnight
• In the Bible, there are a few glimpses of BEING IN THE MIDDLE:
  • In Deuteronomy 5:22, Moses refers to how the Lord spoke to the children of Israel from the MIDDLE of the cloud, fire, and thick darkness above Mount Sinai.
  • In Joshua 4:3, the Lord directed Joshua to command 12 men of each of the tribes to take 12 stones out of the MIDDLE of the Jordan River to make a monument, if you will, of the crossing of the Jordan River on dry land.
  • In Judges 7:19, Gideon came upon the first camp for the first battle during the MIDDLE watch.
  • In Judges 16:29, Sampson took hold of the two MIDDLE pillars to bring down the temple to end his life and ll those within.
  • In 2Chronicles 7:7, we learn that “Solomon hallowed the MIDDLE of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings”
  • In Matthew 17:5, the voice of God came out of the MIDDLE of a cloud to speak to the disciples upon the Mount of Transfiguration and said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”

 “Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God:”

What happens IN THE MEANTIME – 2 Perspectives

• Inactivity
  • We try to hide from the reality of our past and the conviction of our future.
  • Elijah faced with the reality of his having angered Queen Jezebel after the defeat of the prophets of Baal upon Mount Carmel. However, God found him and asked him, 1Kings 19:13, “What doest thou here, Elijah?”
  • We are called not to inactivity, but to ACTIVITY!!
• Activity
  • We work, are active, in anticipation of a coming event.
  • Paul said in Philippians 3:14, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
  • From labor to reward, from earth to glory…Paul is striving filling his IN THE MEANTIME with “pressing”
  • We see now that activity is necessary to please God!! — James 1:22, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

 

“and the prisoners heard them”

You should still be an effective witness of Christ to others…even IN THE MEANTIME!

• Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
• This is how God uses us even when we are “in a jam” or “out of kilter” or “out of pocket”. This is how, as Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

 

Conclusion:

God working IN THE MEANTIME:

• God’s Will is active throughout

God and Pre-Genesis

• God’s glory fills existence as it did the temple
• God establishes the Godhead “team” — John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Genesis to Malachi

• Creation
• Baptism of the world – Flood & Noah
• Law is given – Moses
• Temple is built and dedicated
• Prophets maintain the presence of God’s Guidance through the years

The 400 years of silence between Malachi and Matthew:

• Temple reestablished for worship
• Judaic religion developed to the traditional form known
  • Talmud, Pharisees, Sadducees
  • Synagogue developed
• Septuagint translation of the Old Testament made

Matthew to Revelation

• The prophesied life, death, and resurrection of Jesus
• Establishment of the 1^st century church
• The spread of the Gospel to the Gentiles
• The prophecy of the end times and judgement

Post-Revelation to Today

• God’s providential Will has given us life and life more abundantly
• God’s permissive Will has allowed us to make mistakes and has let life teach us
• God’s grace has allowed us to be worthy of His presence
• God’s love has brought us into His fold as an heir to the Kingdom and a joint-heir with Christ
• God’s power has sustained us and brought me to overcome the greatest obstacles of my life
• God’s peace has surpassed all understanding
• God’s provision has given to us when the world would take away

 

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IN THE MEANTIME trust God who has already conquered IN THE MEANTIME!

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As it says in Psalm 25:20,

“O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.”

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