Where and When We Worship

Acts 16:22-34

I was created for a purpose, an instrument to magnify…and again I say rejoice. You and I were made to worship.

Introduction: We got off to a great start last week in our new series on worship entitled Spirit and Truth where we emphasized that Jesus is the WHO of our worship and this week we are going to go after the where and the when. Today we pick up in Acts chapter 16 where we are going to see the response that two men named Paul and Silas received when they cast demons out of a slave girl. As we read the text today keep that in mind, that those who accused Paul and Silas were more concerned with the money they were making off the girl than the girl herself. This is another great reminder that the love of money is the root of all evil. And if we don’t think our concern for money can be evil, just think of all that you might withhold from God that could keep his work from moving forward. Bottomline, Paul and Silas’ teaching was all good until it cost someone something.  Let’s jump into the text…

Acts 16:22–34 “The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.”

Text Follow Up: What kind of mood do you think they were in? I’ll bet they had a right to be in a bad mood… They were praying and singing after they had just been beaten WITH RODS and thrown into prison. I mean I wonder if any of us have ever been hit with a rod even once, the scriptures says the were BEATEN WITH RODS. Notice, we don’t find Paul and Silas praying to be released from prison, we don’t see them praying that God would punish those who beat them, or against the injustice, we don’t even see them praying for God to heal them.  The type of prayer we are speaking of goes way beyond just “Lord get me out of this.” They were craving a connection with the creator of the universe in their darkest hour. We find them worshiping in prison. Praying and praising God. Praying and worshipping through difficulty puts us in a position for the Lord to make much of our situation. We have to recognize that…

WORSHIP HAPPENS EVERYWHERE. (V.24-25)

Not just can happen everywhere, but it does happen everywhere.

Last week we focused on the WHO of our worship and we certainly know that Jesus is supposed to be the focus of our worship, but competition is always looming. We worship something or someone everywhere…. We worship at the temple of the arena, the temple of the gym, the temple of the internet, the temple of the shopping mall. Listen to how author James Smith described the shopping mall as a place of worship.

“We might say that the mall doesn’t look very religious: there are no pews or pulpit, we don’t go there to listen to a sermon, and we don’t kneel and pray in the middle of the atrium. But just because it doesn’t look like worship at church doesn’t mean that it’s not worship. We can see that the rhythms, rituals, and spaces of the mall are loaded with meaning; and more specifically, they are loaded with a particular vision of the kingdom, a particular take on what constitutes the good life. the mall is an intensification of a wider web of practices and rituals associated with consumer capitalism. In that respect, one might say that marketing is the mall’s evangelism; television commercials, billboards, social media, and magazine advertisements are the mall’s outreach. The rituals and practices of the mall and the market are tactile as they capture our imaginations through the senses of sight and sound, touch and taste, even smell. The hip, happy people that populate television commercials are the moving icons of the consumer gospel, illustrations of what the good life looks like: carefree and independent, clean and sexy, perky and perfect.

And while the shopping mall as it were, is becoming a thing of the past we relate to this thought about the mall wherever we might fit in. The shopper, the sports fan, the gamer, the workaholic all being fashioned into a sort of worshipper with misguided praise and devotion.

But in an attempt to re-connect with our story from Paul and Silas, I’ll point out that much of the worship that we spend on ideas other than God are in places and outlets where we are seeking out fun, desire, money, and security. But in opposition to all of this we see Paul and Silas worshipping out of a position of pain, despair, and discomfort.

Some of us can’t be found in a spirit of worship before we have a cup of coffee in the morning or if we had a hard day at work. Some of us can’t be found in a spirit of worship if we haven’t eaten dinner or our spouse isn’t perfectly meeting all our needs. Many of us can’t worship because we don’t think God is being fair with us about a particular situation in our life.

Paul and Silas had every “right” to not worship. You always have the “right” not to worship. But when you exercise your right to NOT worship, you are only limiting the work that God wants to perform in your life. That leads us to our second thought this morning. One of the greatest things that happens when we worship God is that we can be released from our bondage… Let’s look at verse 25 and 26 again here in Acts 16.

WORSHIP RELEASES US FROM BONDAGE. (V.25-26)

Acts 16:25–26 “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.”

I see it as no coincidence that prayer and worship that would free Paul and Silas from bondage would take place at midnight or in a sense… the darkest hour. Anyone can pray a Sunday morning prayer; anyone can sing with people on stage leading them in a fellowship of believers. But midnight? Tired? Hungry? Shackled? Acapella even? When no one else is singing? Not just when no one else is singing, but no one else wants you to worship. Have you ever thought about those other prisoners that night? They were trying to sleep! In fact, they probably WERE asleep. They were awakened by men praying and singing out loud/acapella/and I’m going to take a little poetic freedom here and say probably even off pitch, or even worse, singing a song everyone else didn’t grow up in church singing. Know this, today your worship is not just intended to break you free from the bondage of sin, the bondage of depression, the bondage of pain, or fear, or doubt. Your worship is to awaken those who are spiritually drowsy so that they are prepared for the work that God is about to do in the atmosphere around them.

Transition: And that’s where we will land the sermon today…

WORSHIP OPENS THE DOORS FOR REVIVAL. (V.29-34)

Prayer and worship open doors we never thought would open. In a physical sense the doors to the prison were opened that day, but the more miraculous door that opened that day was the spiritual door that was opened to the house of the jailer. There’s no way that when Paul and Silas were beaten, imprisoned, left in their wounds, in the cold, and buried in their despair that they had the foresight to see the salvation of the jailer. Stop limiting the doors that God might swing open in and through your worship of Him.

We nee to let our faith in Jesus be evident. Just as the prisoners heard Paul and Silas singing praises to God, let those in your circle hear your worship and praise. Give them a reason to ask questions about how you can be so happy and joyful even in difficult times. Their songs led to the question...“Sirs, how can I be saved?” What a great opportunity to witness to the lost, broken, and undone. God will always open doors to share your faith no matter where you are. The question is, will you be faithful to God and seize those divine opportunities?

Conclusion: INVITE TEAM

During our child dedication today we emphasized that parenting means modeling for children in all the places all the time. Paul and Silas could have easily written off this situation in their life as a time to take a break from their Christianity, from their worship.

Instead, Paul and Silas’ external and audible singing and praise was a direct result of their internal faith and trust in God. They were singing because they knew they knew they'd already been set free. Their choice to worship instead of whining or complaining led to the salvation of the jailer and perhaps more. Our worship should be no different whether in prosperity or poverty, on the mountaintop or in the valley, in the fiery furnace or the beach, in a pit or up on a plateau, because God doesn't change. He has been faithful. He is currently being faithful and will always be faithful. Therefore, we must remain faithful and worship.

STAND

Made For More

Prayer and worship changes the atmosphere. Prayer and worship opens doors we never thought would open. Perhaps your heart is heavy with a burden that you can’t bear alone. Maybe You continue to hold onto a spirit of bitterness or pride that God wants to free you from. Perhaps an addiction or habit needs to go… He might just want you to worship today to break off the chains that are holding others in bondage. My favorite part, leading into prayer...  (TAKE TIME REMIND PEOPLE THAT THEIR WORSHIP MADE OTHERS CHAINS FELL What other chains will/won’t fall as a result of your worship. The title to today’s sermon was where and when. It’s Always the right place, It’s always the right time.

Going to sing a song right now called made for more

I know who I am 'cause I know who You are The cross of salvation was only the start Now I am chosen, free and forgiven I have a future and it's worth the living'

Cause I wasn't made to be tending a grave I was called by name Born and raised back to life again I was made for more So why would I make a bed in my shame When a fountain of grace is running my way I know I am Yours And I was made for more

If you fill unfulfilled today, if you feel like you don’t know where you belong you can know that all that can be found in Him. Your shame has no place here and comes from a voice that lies, while the truth speaks that His grace has redeemed you and in Him you are invaluable and made for more than you can ever imagine.

Prayer

POST RESPONSE

segue to baptism, then prayer