“I CAN DO ALL THINGS, EVEN BUILD A CHURCH!”
Acts 16:22-30; 2 Tim 3:12.
Some of you might be wondering about the title of this message in relation to the Scripture passage. Normally, a message with this title would be associated with Philippians 4: 13 where at the end of a discussion about financial security and economics, Paul talks about God’s provision that allows him to face things with a steadfast confidence, and this message will eventually make that connection.
This morning we are kicking off our “Together We Build” capital fund raising campaign. The whole purpose of this campaign is to raise the money and build our new worship center, and I won’t sugar coat things one little bit, it won’t be easy. Even though we all know that we are at a point where we must build, it won’t be easy. Even though we all believe that this is the step that God is leading us to take, it won’t be easy! I hope you all understand me here, building a new church building will not be easy! Its going to be a hard task that will stretch us, a lot! But it is not impossible either! In fact, it is well within our ability to do, especially if we go into this understanding the hazards facing us, and being aware of the opportunities before us. That’s why I chose this passage, to identify the hazards that we face and to point out the opportunities that are before us. To help us all come to that point where we realize that we can do all things, even build a church!
Please open your Bibles to the Book of Acts, chapter 16 and lets look at verses 22 to 30. While you’re finding the passage let me give you a little background information to kind of set the scene.
The year was around 52 AD. Paul was on his second missionary journey and the Holy Spirit had called him and those traveling with him to Macedonia, located just East of Italy and North of the Mediterranean. Their travels took them to Philippi, a Roman colony and one of the leading cities of Macedonia. On the Sabbath, Paul, Silas, and Luke were walking by the river outside of the city gates, seeking a place to pray. As they were going on their way, a female slave who was demon possessed and being used by her masters to earn money for them as a fortune-teller, was following them and yelling,
“These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.”
Verse 18 tells us that she had been following them around, and doing this for many days. Paul had finally had enough of it, and turned and cast the demon out of her.
As a kid did you ever throw a rock at a hornet’s nest? If you did, the reaction was about the same here, because you see if a man’s god is his money and you mess with his money you are really messing with his god, and nothing will make a person madder than messing with what they worship. So they grab ahold of Paul and Silas and drag them before the authorities. Now here is an interesting thing. If you read this chapter carefully you’ll notice that they apparently had gone about in Philippi relatively unnoticed until now. It was because of this incident and the uproar of the merchants that Paul and Silas come to the attention of the authorities, and the end result of this whole thing is that Paul and Silas are beaten, placed in chains and thrown in prison. That brings us to our study text for this morning.
Let’s read Acts 16, verses 16-30.
If we are going to be successful in this building campaign, I believe the first thing we need to do is to be aware of the hazards facing us.
I. THE HAZARD OF SATAN
No sooner did their ministry begin to bear fruit when the Devil began to harass them and divert them from the true ministry. Paul said in Ephesians 6: 12:
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
We have to be aware that the moment we decided that this was God’s direction for this church to take Satan started laying plans to trip us up.
Now I don’t really think that I have to state the obvious, we are at war! Some of you here this morning already know better than I do just how Satan is attacking you, financial problems, relationships that are in jeopardy, families that are under attack, jobs that are failing. We’re well aware of these kinds of things and hopefully, being aware of them we can put on the armor of God and stand firm as Paul instructs in Ephesians 6. But there are other, more subtle ways that Satan can attack us and divert our attention from our true ministry. If he can cause us to focus on ourselves, and this new building program, to the exclusion of everything else, then Satan wins, because as good a thing as this new building might be, its not what God has called us for. When we start being more concerned with the applause we get from others for our efforts in this undertaking, Satan wins, because, as nice as it is to have others appreciate what we do, that isn’t why God called us. When we start letting our personal wants take priority over the needs of the body or more importantly, the needs of the lost, Satan wins, because you see what we must always keep in mind is the true ministry that God has called us to. We’re building this building so that we can see more people saved and so they can have a place to worship and grow as Christians. It’s not for our reputation, or our status and we must always remember that. So the first hazard is to realize that our enemy is not the messenger of flesh and blood, but the Spirit within that messenger.
II. THE HAZARD OF OTHERS
In verse 19 it tells us that when the owners of the slave girl realized that things were not going their way anymore, they retaliated against Paul and Silas, had them brought before the authorities, beaten and thrown in jail.
How many of you here this morning want to live a godly life? If that’s your goal this morning raise your hand. All right, well hang on to that thought, then open your Bibles to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:12. Listen to what Paul told young Timothy.
“Everyone...” he didn’t say some people. He didn’t say just first century Christians, or apostles.
“Everyone...who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus...”
Now, if you raised your hand, that’s you. Just as if your name was written right here in the Bible, the Holy Spirit is talking about you when he says, ’ “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will...” It doesn’t say, “might.” It doesn’t say, “could be.” It says, absolutely, unmistakably, and without a doubt, “will suffer persecution!”
Now, how many here still have a desire to live a godly life? All right, but at least you go into it fully aware of what you’re facing! Now let me let you in on another little secret, a lot of that persecution will come from your friends, neighbors, coworkers, and maybe even your own family. As hard as it might be to believe, we need to be aware that not everyone is going to be as excited about the prospect of us building a new worship center as we are. In fact, some people will be upset and some might even try to oppose what we are trying to do. It might be because they are confused as to what we are after, or it might come out a sense of loyalty to another church or denomination, or quite frankly it could come from a desire to do damage to the kingdom of God. Whatever, just understand that we must be aware of how others feel, do our best to calm their fears or answer their questions, but we must not let them deter us from the course God has laid before us.
III. THE HAZARD OF OURSELVES
Another hazard that we must watch out for comes from within ourselves, and that is our emotions and attitudes. I’ll be the first to admit that the idea of building a new worship center is scary business, I guarantee you its much scarier from this side of the podium. It would be very easy to focus on all the things that could go wrong, to concentrate on all the difficulties that we face and just say, “Its too hard, let someone else do it.” It would be very easy to just dismiss it as possibly being the very worst day that this church has ever faced. And speaking of bad days, take a look at verses 22 to 24.
“The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.”
Now, I don’t know about you, but that’s what I’d call a very, very, very bad day! I think I’m having a bad day if I break a shoelace! Or my latte’ gets cold. Or I lose two golf balls on the same hole!
I don’t know what I’d do if somebody beat me ’til I was bloody, threw me in a cold prison cell, and then to make things worse, they shackled me to the wall and left me there. That’s exactly what they did to Paul and Silas. And you know what, about that time they had every right to be angry with God, or at very least greatly disappointed! I think if we get real quiet we might even be able to hear them, “God, where did you go?” “I thought this was where You wanted us?” “You called and we came! Now look at the situation we’re in!” “God, why did you let this happen to us?”
Doubt and concern, anxiety or fear, these are not necessarily wrong feelings or attitudes. A little doubt can cause us to take the time we need to really think a matter through completely. Concern can help us to be sure that we’re taking the right steps or committing the right actions. But when we get to the point that our doubt and concern becomes anxiety, which becomes fear, which leads to the inability to make choices or take action then we have defeated ourselves. Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7, that God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline. One thing that can really help us to keep our feelings and emotions in proper perspective is to practice a little self-discipline and understand that we are not in this alone.
There are fellow believers and church all across this country that are in prayer for us right now, this very moment! And some of them are at this very moment feeling led by God to somehow get involved in helping us. Some are being led to send funds, some are being led to send material, and some are being led to send workers.
So, now that we’re aware of some of the hazards that we are facing, what are the opportunities that are before us that can help us accomplish our goal of building this new worship center?
III. THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES WHEN WE ARE IN STEP WITH GOD
God requires a walk by faith. None of us know what the next step will be. Even Pastors, to whom others look for inspiration, guidance and direction, are led by the Spirit like everyone else, just one step at a time.
It’s great to want to build, grow and minister in different ways, but we must allow God to give us direction. Shortly after Lynne and I first moved to South Dakota in 1978 I had an opportunity to get a job in Casper, Wyoming. I had never been to Casper, but the guy gave me good directions so I was fairly confident that we could get there. As we were heading there I took the shortcut that he told me about, or thought that I did anyway. The good blacktop road we were on soon changed to a gravel road that turned into a dirt road, which soon became little more than a goat path in the middle of a pasture! Then we came to, THE BRIDGE! In my sermon notes that’s written in big, bold, capitol letters, because you would not believer this bridge. It was an old, worn out, falling apart junk pile that had seen many years go by since it could be called a bridge. This thing was wooden, with planks missing in the center, the abutments were leaning in at about a 30% angle, one of the arch supports was busted off lying in the ravine below, and right there on the front was a sign that read, “Cross At Your Own Risk!” That’s what it’s like trying to do ministry without seeking Gods’ guidance. All of our plans will come to nothing if we do not allow God to direct us.
But on the other hand, if you are following God’s will, seeking His guidance you will never come to a place where He says, “Cross at your own risk!” He will always be with you, in fact, it’s been my experience that when you come to those broken down bridges in your Christian life, God provides a way across, even if He has to make it at His own expense. Like He did 2000 years ago on cross at a place called, “Calvary”.
Think about that for a moment. Do you believe that it’s God’s will for the lost people in this area to be saved? Do you believe that it is God’s will that this church have a part in seeing some of them saved? Do you believe that it’s God’s plan for all believers to develop and grow spiritually? If you have answered yes to these questions then you understand the opportunity before us, and see the need for starting a Capitol Fund Raising Campaign and building a new worship center.
I firmly believe that if we are faithful in following God’s leadership in this we will see people saved, we will see this church grow, we will see ministries develop that we haven’t even thought about yet and we will see our communities changed for the better!
IV. THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES WHEN WE ARE IN PRAYER AND PRAISE TO GOD
When Paul and Silas found themselves in the bowels of that prison, chained up in a cell that was cold, dark, and wet, their bodies aching and bleeding from their beating, they could have given in to their emotions, and started screaming, shouting, whining and crying. They could have cursed God for allowing them to get in that position. They could have shaken their fists at the heavens and shouted, “Why, God, why?” They might have said all of that, but they didn’t say any of it. No, look what they were doing, deep in the bowels of that cold prison cell. Look at verse 25:
“But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”
I am a firm believer in the power of prayer, and I hope that you are too! Because prayer really works. James said the prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective. Think of some of the examples that we have from Scripture of powerful and effective prayers.
Elijah prayed, that it would not rain and it didn’t rain for three and a half years!
Joshua prayed, and the sun stood still!
Daniel prayed, and the lions became pussycats!
The three Hebrew boys prayed, and the fire became an oasis!
Jesus prayed, and death gave way to victory, and the power of sin was forever defeated! Amen!
But I know what you’re thinking, those are just Bible stories and it’s sometimes hard to relate them to our lives today. So lets look a little closer to home for examples of prayers that work. In 1998, eighteen people got together in this sanctuary and prayed for a pastor to lead them, to care for them, and to shepherd them, and on June 1st 1998, God led Lynne and I here.
Some of the women in this church saw a need to minister to the folks in our community who were hungry and down on their luck, so we prayed about it and the “Lord’s Kitchen,” a community food pantry, was born and today operates out of what used to be the Young Adult classroom and provides food for 50 people a month.
We said this church has a vision from God to reach the community of Whitewood and the surrounding area and we prayed about it and now we’ve gone from 25 in worship to well over 100!
We saw the need for more staff to help out in the administration of this growth, we prayed and Pastor Richard and Lora came from southern Florida in answer to God’s call.
Do you see what I’m saying? Prayer works, it’s powerful and effective, and as long as we keep this whole church and all our ministries in prayer we can do all things, even build a church!
V. THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES WHEN WE ARE SET FREE BY GOD
Its been my experience in ministry that things usually don’t get done because people either don’t feel qualified to do it or they don’t feel free to do it.
With a little training you can be qualified to do anything. I know that from personal experience! When I helped develop and lead Homestake’s troubleshooting school for the underground electricians we saw all kinds of people come through that course, from highly qualified electricians, to some that I had to wonder who tied their boots form them! But in the end every man and woman who went through that 16 week training class was qualified to work on even the most elaborate piece of electrical equipment that Homestake had. You don’t feel like you can share your testimony or lead someone to the Lord, give me a few weeks working with you and you’ll be out there sharing your testimony in the checkout line at Safeway or Walmart or anywhere you get 5 minutes to talk to someone.
Same with teaching Sunday school, or leading the Wednesday Night kids, or starting a Singles class or whatever ministry you feel led by God to start, we can get you the training. But what about that freedom thing? When your strength is gone and your resources depleted, know this: God can set you free!
And He will set you free, and He does it because He loves you and He does it because He cares, but He does it for another reason, too. Look at verse 27:
“The jailor 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 jailor 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.” Paul answered that question with the most profound truth, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved!” I don’t want you to miss this: God saves us so that you and I can be the tools that He uses for saving others! We need to just write that down somewhere. God saves us so we can be used for saving others.
That is why we are building this new worship center. That is what the main focus of our prayers should be about. That is where our praises must be centered, in God saving the lost.
The question is, are you?
Are you allowing God to use you as his instrument, as His hands, as His feet to take the good news to a world that desperately needs it?
One last note I said that this message was going to tie into Paul’s discussion about finances, economics and confidence in God to get him through. Do you remember where Paul was? He was in Philippi, wasn’t he? Several years later Paul wrote a letter to the church in Philippi and he said something that the Philippians knew to be true. He said,
“I have learned the secret of being content in every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
And, he could have added, in a prison cell or out of one, then he topped it off by saying,
“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”
Even, build a church in Whitewood, South Dakota!
