Wednesday “Released for Peace” (Thoughts on Sunday’s Sermon)
Acts 16:16-18
“Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave girl who had a
spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by
fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the
Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days.
Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of
Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.”
I can’t imagine what it must have been like for the slave girl to live in bondage to masters who were intent on exploiting her curse of being demon-possessed. I can’t imagine how that demonic power overwhelming her must have felt, the fear it must have incited or the anguish of being owned by someone else. But I can imagine that the feeling of being freed from the hold of demon possession must have been exhilarating. I’m sure she experienced a peace that she had never known before and I bet she wanted to keep on shouting, but this time in Praise to Jesus.
When Paul cast out the demon in the name of Jesus the girl was immediately freed. She now knew not just in theory but in practice the words she had been shouting. She got to experience the power of the Most High God saving her. She was released.
While I can’t say that I have ever known someone who was possessed by a demon, I have had the privilege of seeing people released from addiction, sexual immorality, depression, pride, anger and fear. The power of sin and death in my own life has been defeated by the blood of Jesus Christ. Sometimes that release comes immediately like in the life of the slave girl, but other times that release comes in the form of a long struggle against the power of death in our lives. Sometimes we can struggle to believe that God’s Word is truth, we can fall prey to our sinful desires that so easily entangle and we can believe the lie that the Prince of Peace doesn’t reign. It is in those times of doubt that we must remember that we serve the Most High God and that He saves.
One of the amazing things about being released from the hold of sin and death in our lives is that we are released not because of our own merit but because God is raising up people to bring peace to our world. We are released to have peace with God and released to bring God’s peace. In Acts 16 the peace of God spread as we see Paul and Silas taking the Gospel to Philippi. The peace of God is spread in Williamsport as we who have experienced peace tell of the ways God is working in our lives. When we are generous, when we forgive others, when we repent first, we are sowing seeds of peace.
You have a mission as one who has experienced peace. You are a bringer of “Tidings of Comfort and Joy” we truly are called to “Go tell it on the Mountain”. These are not just nice phrases from Christmas carols, they are our marching orders as the soldiers in the army of the Prince of Peace.
Blessings, Hesed