HOPE OF THEIR GAINS WAS GONE – Acts 16:19
Acts 16:19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,
Paul and Silas were in Thyatira. In this city there was a young lady who was possessed with a devil. This young lady followed Paul and Silas around telling everyone to listen to Paul and Silas because they were men of God who were there to show them the way of salvation. Paul and Silas put up with this young lady for many days but finally, the devil in her grieved Paul to the point that he cast the demon out of her. The devil came out of the young lady and she was free.
The masters of this young lady were not glad that Paul had worked this great miracle. Instead, her masters were mad at Paul because they no longer were going to receive profit from this young lady. This young lady had been able to tell the fortunes of those in the city and thus people would pay the masters money to learn what the future held.
The masters of this young lady were more concerned about their financial profit then the health and well being of the one who was in their charge. They did not love this young lady as themselves. Instead, all that was important to them was their financial wellbeing. Because of their monetary focus on life, when the mighty works of God was evident by the hands of Paul and Silas, rather than rejoicing in the miracle God had performed, they were bitter at their financial loss.
God had made HIS presence known in this town but the people missed it because their focus was on the wrong thing. Because they had a material view of life, they lost sight of the perfect will of God for this young lady. Greed had clouded their vision.
You understand that Christ has commanded us that you cannot serve both God and the things of this world. While it is easy to hear these words, it is often difficult to live these words. The ties to this world are strong. If you are not careful, you can quickly find yourself trying to serve both God and the things of this world. You would never admit that you are serving the things of the world, but a quick review of what is important to you will reveal that you are more concerned about the things of this world than you are the things of God.
Paul and Silas were more concerned about the things of God. They willingly went from town to town preaching the gospel of Christ. They went where God directed them to go and abstained from going where God told them to not go. Paul was more concerned about the soul of this young lady than he was about the monetary profit that was gained by her being possessed with a devil. It was not right that she was willed with a devil and Paul used the power that God had given him to cast out this devil.
Temperance needs to be a part of your daily life. You need to say no to the things of this world so that the things of God can become a priority in your life. If the things of this world continue to dominate your life, your life will be out of balance and you will soon discover that you are doing things that you never imagined you would do.
God needs to be the most important thing in your life. You need to learn to love the Lord with all your heart. Say no to the things of this world that try to distract you from doing the perfect will of God. You need to learn to be like Paul who was able to say that he had learned to be content regardless of the circumstances around him.