SERMON TITLE: Proclaim, Pray, and Praise
TEXT: Acts 16:16-40 ESV (Read via video)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 7-24-22
Watch the sermon here.
Take notes here.
As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or are joining us at our North Main campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
We’re continuing our series in the book of Acts today. And what we’re going to be challenged with is how we respond to adversity and opposition in our lives. We’re going to see an example — from Paul’s life — of a better way to respond to adversity and opposition than how we typically tend to respond. What do I mean?
Well — most of us practice one of three “F’s” when faced with adversity or opposition. You know the three “F’s”, I’m sure — or you’re at least familiar with two of them. When we face adversity or opposition we fight or we flight. Some of us fight — an aggressive defense mechanism. Others of us flight — or flee — to try and find safety.
But there’s also the response of fright. And fright — or fear — may cause us to freeze — another “F”! This is the person who doesn’t fight — and who’s too afraid to run — so you’re just frozen — and there’s no Elsa or Anna to help — lame joke, I know. Now all three of these are very natural responses to adversity and opposition — they’re instinctual. If I’m out running and a big dog starts barking at me — I’m not thinking about fighting — nor am I freezing out of fear — I kick into a new gear cause I want to get away from the dog as quickly as possible.
Now — it’s one thing to respond this way initially to a situation — but it’s something else to live in a constant state of fight, flight, or fright. Where we allow these responses to move from an initial reaction — to adversity or opposition — and become our lifestyle. For living in a constant state of fight, flight, or fright is a prison that keeps a person from experiencing joy and freedom. It makes sense for me to initially speed up to get away from a dog while running. But — when there’s no dog around — I shouldn’t be running as if there is.
Now — the joy and freedom I just mentioned — is something offered to us in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is the Good News of what Jesus accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection — which offers us freedom from the brokenness that’s both in all of us — and has affected the whole world. And — to be clear — this is a brokenness we’ve all contributed to. And the freedom offered to us — in Jesus Christ — is a freedom that leads to our joy because all who find this freedom — after experiencing the pain of being enslaved to brokenness — or what the Bible calls sin and its consequences — all who find freedom from this universal brokenness can’t help but be joyful in all circumstances. Why? Because this freedom provides us with a different way to respond to the adversity and opposition we experience in life. Where — though we may still initially react with fight, flight, or fright — these won’t develop into a lifestyle. Instead — our lifestyle of response — to adversity and opposition — will be one of three “P’s.” So let’s discover these responses we’re given in our freedom in Christ.
The first way we can respond to adversity and opposition — in having been freed through the work of Christ — is we can respond to adversity and opposition with proclamation — with proclamation. Now — if you’re not a Christian — and maybe even if you are a Christian — this may seem completely irrelevant to whatever adversity or opposition you’re facing — but bear with me for a minute. One way we can respond to adversity and opposition — in having been freed from our enslavement to brokenness and sin — by the work of Christ — is by proclaiming the gospel and the greatness and faithfulness of our God. Now — I hope — if you’re a Christian — that even hearing this is stirring up inside of you something powerfully passionate — a desire to proclaim the gospel — for this is the new freedom you have in Christ.
We see this response a few times in our verses. For example, Paul and his companions are being followed around by a demonized slave girl and one of the things she says about them is that “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days.” (Acts 16:17b-18a ESV)
And — though it’s Paul and his companions — who are proclaiming the gospel — I find it interesting that this demonized slave girl — in trying to disrupt them — is actually helping to spread their message. She tells the crowd that Paul and his friends are both servants of the Most High God and proclaiming the way of salvation. And this went on for days! Not the typical church strategy — get the demonized person on the evangelism team — but hey — it sure was attention grabbing — people in the town knew something was up.
Later — when Paul and his crew are brought before the magistrates — they’re accused of advocating for customs that weren’t in accordance with Roman law. The point is that they’re being accused of advocating for — or proclaiming — something. And — after being thrown into prison — and after the miraculous events take place — Paul responds to the jailer’s question of— “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” — with proclamation. “31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.” (Acts 16:30b-32 ESV)
You see, one freedom you have — in having believed in Jesus Christ — a freedom you’ve been given in how you can respond to adversity and opposition — is proclamation — to proclaim the Good News — the greatness of God — declaring your trust and hope in him alone for your salvation even as you face adversity or opposition.
And I know how foolish this may sound as a response — Paul does say proclaiming the gospel will be seen as foolish by many — but know that — in proclaiming the gospel — while facing adversity and opposition — you’ll experience the power of the Spirit of God who can drive out demons and cause earthquakes to open prison doors and cause prisoner chains to fall off. The power of the Spirit of God — who uses our proclamation of the gospel — to cause others to say, “What must I do to be saved?” is what you will experience if you step into this freedom that is yours in Jesus Christ.
“But, Josh, my adversity is health related — how does proclaiming the gospel help me?” Is it not encouraging to see God use you to be the means by which someone else believes in Jesus? Maybe that doesn’t directly change your health situation but surely it’s not to be dismissed. I remember when one of our young mothers to be was in the hospital for a few months prior to giving birth. She used her time in the hospital to proclaim God’s love to the staff and patients. What a response to adversity.
“But, Josh, my issue is in my relationship with my children — or my spouse — or someone at work — how will proclaiming the gospel help me?” Do you know that a confidence will be stirred up inside of you as you remind yourself of what you believe, who your trust is in, and the hope you have in Christ — even as you’re in the midst of a relational conflict? God will remind you that the greatest relational conflict you ever faced — your broken relationship with him — has been overcome through your faith in Jesus Christ. And this reminder will encourage you even as you’re in the midst of other relational conflict.
Regardless of the adversity or opposition we face — dear Christian — don’t underestimate the encouragement offered to us in proclaiming the gospel to ourselves and others. And let me ease some of the common concerns we have when it comes to talking about our faith with others.
According to research — from last year (Christians Don’t Share Faith with Unchurched Friends by Lifeway Research, September 2021.) — 47% of unchurched Americans say they’d discuss freely if someone wanted to talk about their religious beliefs. Another 31% would be willing to listen to your beliefs without discussing theirs. Again — that’s 78% of unchurched Americans — who say they’re willing to hear about your religious beliefs. But here’s the disconnect — and this is on our end of the conversation — if you’re a Christian. Only 29% of unchurched Americans say a Christian has ever shared the gospel with them personally.
Think of 10 unchurched people you know. Eight of them are open to you talking about your Christian faith with them. Yet only three will have the gospel shared to them personally. Talk about an unexpected opportunity in this culture of adversity and opposition we’re all living in. One area where there’s little to no opposition is in our unchurched friends and neighbors' openness to hearing us talk about our faith. So how about we respond to adversity and opposition — in this freedom we’ve been blessed with — by proclaiming the Good News. For in it — the gospel — others will find the freedom that Christ offers to them. Keeping in mind what Paul tells us when he writes — “For ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.’ 14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, ‘How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” (Romans 10:13-15 NLT)
This is why we say “You are sent” at the end of each of our worship services. For we send you out — into the world — into our community and schools and workplaces and neighborhoods — to go and tell people — who 80% of them are very open to hearing — the Good News of Jesus Christ. We can respond to adversity and opposition — not with fight, or flight, or fright — but by proclaiming the gospel.
A second way we can respond to adversity and opposition — as we see in our text — is to respond with prayer. We can respond to adversity and opposition with prayer.
The verses — we’re looking at today — begin with the words, “As we were going to the place of prayer…” (Acts 16:16a ESV)
As we saw last week — when Paul and his companions first arrived in Philippi — they sought out the location where the prayer meeting was taking place. And later — after having been arrested, beaten, and thrown in jail — while their feet are fastened in stocks and having been left in a grueling and uncomfortable position — at “about midnight Paul and Silas were praying…” (Acts 16:25a ESV)
I don’t know about you — but I often find it hard to stay focused while I pray — especially when I’m tired. And I’m no night owl — so praying at midnight — with any kind of focus — requires supernatural intervention from God. But I’ve never tried being chained up in an uncomfortable position where sleep isn’t possible to maintain my focus during prayer. But that’s the kind of position Paul and Silas are in — one so uncomfortable that sleep would not come.
But think of the adversity they’re facing — the opposition they’ve experienced. They've been arrested, beaten, and thrown in jail. Do they fight? No. Do they flight? No. Do they freeze in fear? No. How do they respond? They respond with prayer.
Now — if you’re not a Christian — prayer may be a strange idea to you. Even if you are a Christian — prayer may still feel kind of strange to you. We close our eyes. Sometimes we hold hands — which can be weird. Then someone talks while everyone does their best to pay attention to what’s being said. Sometimes a person goes on and on and on and — try as you might to stay focused — you remember that you meant to send an email before you left work and you don’t want to forget to send it later — so you’re all “don’t forget the email, don’t forget the email, don’t forget the email” while the person keeps on praying. Don’t tell me that’s never happened to you before. Maybe not with an email — but something like that’s happened.
And — while that one person is still praying — someone else is wondering, “Am I going to have to pray?” No one made it clear before all the heads were bowed and eyes were closed if only this one person was praying — I mean — they’re taking a long time — or if we’re going around the circle and allowing — or forcing — everyone to pray. So you’re wondering what you’ll say and if what you’ll say will be OK because — great! — pastor Josh is in the circle and he’s probably judging every word that comes out of your mouth — which I’m not doing by the way.
And — again — if you’re not a Christian — you may be even more confused about what prayer is after hearing all of that. So what is prayer? I’ll quote from this booklet that’s available for free at all of our campuses and online. The booklet is titled “How do I grow?” It’s meant to help you know how to grow spiritually and in your relationship with God.
“To pray means to communicate with God. It’s that simple. A good model to follow is the A.C.T.S. model of prayer. The “A” stands for adoration. Praise God for who he is. The “C” stands for confession. Confess your sins to God. The “T” stands for thanksgiving. Thank God for all of the wonderful things he’s done for you and others. Finally, the “S” stands for supplication. This is where we bring our needs and the needs of others before him.
It’s OK if you need to write out your prayers or have lists so that you don’t forget something. Some people journal their prayers and others don’t. No matter what you do, just be sure to communicate with God daily. And don’t do all of the talking. Let him get in a word or two.”
And the best way to ensure that you’re adoring God for who he is — and not who you think he is — and to know what sin is so that you can confess it to God — and to thank God because you recognize the wonderful things he’s done for you and others — and to bring your needs before him with confidence knowing that he hears you — is by knowing God’s Word — the Bible. And the Bible is especially the best way to know that — as you listen during prayer — that you’re hearing from God — for God will never contradict his Word.
What adversities in life — or what opposition are you facing — need to be the focus of your prayer? Maybe it’s your marriage — which has seen better days — or your health — or a relationship with one of your children? Why not respond to the situation with prayer? Or maybe you are praying but realize you’re doing all the talking. Maybe listening to God is what’s needed? Maybe someone you know and care about is facing adversity — are you praying for them? What about the adversities your company’s facing or opposition you’re experiencing in the workplace — how often is prayer your response instead of fight, flight, or fright?
Finally — Paul and Silas — respond to adversity and opposition with praise. We see this while they’re lying on the ground of the jail cell with their feet chained up. When at “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 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 everyone’s bonds were unfastened.” (Acts 16:25-26 ESV)
Notice that Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns — that’s them praising God — and this all happened before the miracle takes place. I don’t know about you — but it’s easy for me to praise God after something miraculously good happens — but prior — when things are difficult and hard and the adversity or opposition I’m facing seems impossible to overcome — well — singing and praising God is just way harder. But — here — Paul and Silas — with their feet in stocks and as they’re chained to the prison walls and — oh — other prisoners can hear how great of singing voices they have or don’t have — what do we find them doing? They sing! They praise God while they’re in this dire situation. There’s no fighting in this situation. Though there’s plenty of opportunity for fright — they show no signs of fear. And even when they have the opportunity to hightail it out of there — they stay. Why? Because — having believed in Jesus — they’ve got a different set of options in how to respond to adversity and opposition. They don’t have to fight. They don’t have to fear. And they don’t have to run.
Often in life — adversities and opposition become reasons for people to stop gathering with the church to praise God. In our day and age — with online church services — it’s easy to stay home and watch church. But you know what I noticed with my family — when we were doing only online church for a couple of months back in 2020 — I noticed that singing at home is weird — it’s also so much easier to be distracted at home. Maybe your personality’s different — but the Hansons are different people when we’re gathered with you all than when we’re sitting at home. We sing when we’re with you in a way we didn’t when we were at home. We were less participatory when we watched from home — but when we’re with you all — it’s hard not to participate. And so — let me encourage you — to not take the easy route when it comes to worship. Get out of bed — get out of your house — get in your car and get to one of our campuses to gather with the people of God to worship. And — I know, I know — that there are extraordinary cases where gathering just isn’t possible — know if that’s your situation, you’re not who I’m talking to. I’m talking to the people who say they’re part of the body of Christ and yet haven’t made gathering with the church to praise God the priority it once was for them.
One of the things that always amazes me — when I’m gathered with you all — is to see people — who I know are facing tremendous adversity — obstacles that would cause most of us to fight, flight, or freeze in fear — to see these folks worshiping at our campuses. Some of the hands raised the highest — as we sing and praise God — are the hands of those facing the most difficult obstacles in life. In fact — the people who you saw reading our verses in the video earlier — are some of those people. If you see them at your campus — go up and ask them about their story and why their hands are still raised as they praise Jesus. And — they don’t know this — but I want them to know that their faith is inspiring to me. To see them praising God — instead of defaulting to fighting, flighting, or freezing — to see them praising God shows me that God is at work in their life. And it’s an encouragement to this pastor's soul to see them praising God.
The ugly truth about adversity and obstacles in life is that we’re all gonna face them. Though today may not be that day for you — the day is coming. It can’t be avoided in this world we live in broken by sin — a world full of the consequences of our rebellion against. The consequences aren’t always due to a specific decision we’ve made — but there’s a brokenness to our world that’s unavoidable and eventually catches up to all of us.
The question for us — then — is this: How will we respond when we find ourselves facing adversity or opposition? Will we respond in the way of the world — by fighting, flighting, or freezing in fear? Or will we — the people of God — respond supernaturally? With proclamation, prayer, and praise? This is how Paul and Silas respond when they were falsely arrested, beaten, and put in jail. Though innocent — they didn’t fight. Though beaten and — I’m sure wondering if they’d be killed — they didn’t freeze in fear. And when the chains fell off and the prison doors were opened and they had a way of escape — they didn’t hightail it out of there. Instead of responding naturally — they responded supernaturally. They responded in the freedom they had because of their faith in Jesus Christ.
How are you responding to the adversity you’re facing right now? How will you respond when you find yourself facing opposition in the future? Decide now. Choose now. Be determined now for when the day comes it may be too late and your natural instincts will kick in. And what’s an opportunity for us as individuals is an opportunity for us as a church as well. How will we respond to the adversities we face as a congregation — to the opposition we experience? Naturally or supernaturally? Seek the love of your Heavenly Father, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the joy that Jesus offers to you today so that — when the day comes — you’ll respond to adversity and opposition supernaturally — bringing glory and honor to your God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the freedom you’ve given to us because of what Christ has accomplished on our behalf. Freedom to respond to adversity and opposition supernaturally.
Spirit — in the moments of life where fight, flight or fright begin to take over — remind us of the freedom that is our through our faith in Christ. We can proclaim the gospel. We can pray. We can praise.
And — Jesus — we thank you for making this freedom possible and for gracious giving it to us. May any who are longing for the freedom you offer — put their trust in you today. May they call out to you as their Savior. And we pray all of this in your name. Amen.
Hopefully — as you came in — you grabbed one of these prepackaged communion cups. If you don’t have one — and would like one — raise your hand at this time and we’ll get one to you.
Friends, this is the joyful feast of the people of God! In eternity, people will come from east and west, and from north and south, to sit at the table in the kingdom of God. According to Luke, after Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead, he ate a meal with his disciples. And during the meal he took the bread, blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and — as he did so — their eyes were opened and they recognized him.
This is the Lord's Table. And our Savior invites all who trust him — all whose eyes have been opened to see and receive him as their Savior — to share the feast which he has prepared.
Hear the words of Paul: The Lord Jesus, on the night of his arrest, took bread, and after giving thanks to God, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take, eat. This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way he took the cup, saying: This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me. Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the saving death of the risen Lord, until he comes.
Now with thanksgiving for all the things God has done for us in his Son, Jesus Christ, let’s spend a moment in silence, offering to God our praise for cleansing us from all of our sins and for giving us freedom to respond to adversity and opposition supernaturally.
—moment of silence—
God, in your wisdom, you made all things and sustain them by your power. You formed us in your image, placing us in this world to love and serve you, and to live in peace with your whole creation. When we rebelled against you, refusing to trust and obey you, you did not reject us, but still claimed us as your own.
Then in the fullness of time, out of your great love for the world, you sent your only Son to be one of us, to redeem us, and to heal our brokenness. Therefore we praise you — joining our voices with the choirs of angels and with all the saints of every time and place who forever sing to the glory of your name. Please join me in saying the words that are on the screens
Congregation: Holy, holy, holy God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Amen.
At this time, if you peel back the first layer of your communion packet, you’ll find a wafer. Take and eat — Christ’s body given for you.
And — now peel back the second layer. Take and drink — Christ’s blood shed for you.
Let’s pray. Father, we acknowledge that you are holy and majestic and blessed is Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. In Jesus, your Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and he was full of grace and truth. He lived as one of us, knowing joy and sorrow. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, opened blind eyes, and broke bread with outcasts and sinners. Dying on the cross, he gave himself for the life of the world. Raised from the grave, he won for us victory over death. We praise you that Christ now reigns with you and will come again to make all things new. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
No matter the adversity or opposition you face — may you go in the freedom that Christ has made possible — proclaiming his Good News, praying to and praising your Savior. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
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