Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Nov 20th, 2021 A Little Word Called ‘ON’ – The Saturday Morning Post

Today’s Passages – Acts 14 – 16 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Psalms 96 – 100; Proverbs 20)

Read the “1120 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 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. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Acts 16:25-31)

Good morning. After you rub the sleep out of your eyes, and the caffeine from your coffee works it’s way into your foggy brain cells, you’ll probably wonder what is Mary Poppins doing on your screen. Well, I’ll explain… in a few. Get your mind off Mary Poppins, and on the Bible. Take a look at Acts 16:19-31. Paul had just cast a spirit of divination out of a woman. Of course this led to trouble with the woman’s masters. Their hope of gain was gone: it cost them money: they would have to go out and get a real job.

Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison and their feet made fast in the stocks. What happened next should be an example to all of us when things go wrong.

“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 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. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Acts 16:25-31)

What do you believe?

“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” (James 2:19).

Believing alone will not cut it; believing on the Lord Jesus Christ will.

I want to focus on that little word called ‘ON’. This little word is G1909 in your Strong’s Concordance, and it means ‘superimposition’. Ahhh! Mary Poppins! Superimposition when used in film making terms is basically the sandwiching of two separate pictures to make one picture. And you need to become one with the Lord Jesus Christ. Think about it: what are you without Jesus? Jesus completes you, just like the husband completes the wife and the wife completes the husband. Jesus prayed in John 17…

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:20-23)

What a beautiful prayer. You have a God who loves you so much that He gave His life, dying a horrible death, so that He and you could be one. Believe ON the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.

Peace.