Date: September 4th, 2011
Speaker: Pastor Kevin Snyder
Title: When Bad Things Happen...Sing!
Text: Acts 16:16 -36
Introduction
Life doesn’t always go our way…
- When life doesn’t go our way, how do we respond?
- Do we rise above or does our attitude crash?
Turn to Acts 16: 16 - 36 – a story of a great attitude and the results.
Context:
Paul & silas wanted to go to a certain area but it says they were stopped by the Holy Spirit.
And then, Paul has a dream telling him to go to Macedonia.
He concludes that it is God telling them to go.
They barely get there and “stuff” happens.
Listen to the story:
16?One day we were going to the place of prayer. On the way we were met by a female slave. She had a spirit that helped her to tell ahead of time what was going to happen. She earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes. 17?The woman followed Paul and the rest of us around. She shouted, “These men serve the Most High God. They are telling you how to be saved.” 18?She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became upset. Turning around, he spoke to the spirit. “In the name of Jesus Christ,” he said, “I command you to come out of her!” At that very moment the spirit left her.
19?The female slave’s owners realized that their hope of making money was gone. So they grabbed Paul and Silas. They dragged them into the market place to face the authorities. 20?They brought them to the judges. “These men are Jews,” her owners said. “They are making trouble in our city. 21?They are suggesting practices that are against Roman law. These are practices we can’t accept or take part in.”
22?The crowd joined the attack against Paul and Silas. The judges ordered that Paul and Silas be stripped and beaten. 23?They were whipped without mercy. Then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24?When he received his orders, he put Paul and Silas deep inside the prison. He fastened their feet so they couldn’t get away.
25?About midnight Paul and Silas were praying. They were also singing hymns to God. The other prisoners were listening to them. 26?Suddenly there was a powerful earthquake. It shook the prison from top to bottom. All at once the prison doors flew open. Everybody’s chains came loose.
27?The jailer woke up. He saw that the prison doors were open. He pulled out his sword and was going to kill himself. He thought the prisoners had escaped. 28“Don’t harm yourself!” Paul shouted. “We are all here!”
29?The jailer called out for some lights. He rushed in, shaking with fear. He fell down in front of Paul and Silas. 30?Then he brought them out. He asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31?They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus. Then you and your family will be saved.” 32?They spoke the word of the Lord to him. They also spoke to all the others in his house.
33?At that hour of the night, the jailer took Paul and Silas and washed their wounds. Right away he and his whole family were baptized. 34?The jailer brought them into his house. He set a meal in front of them. He and his whole family were filled with joy. They had become believers in God.
35?Early in the morning the judges sent their officers to the jailer. They ordered him, “Let those men go.” 36?The jailer told Paul, “The judges have ordered me to set you and Silas free. You can leave now. Go in peace.”
Picture this:
You feel called by God to a place and before you know it you are
- Harassed
- In conflict with the business community because you cut into their profits (Pimps are out to kill you for freeing “their” girl)
- You are lied about and whole city hates you
- You are stripped and beaten
- Thrown into prison
- In prison – get caught in an earthquake
Not the definition of a great day.
Typical Responses
Questioning – “Was this God’s will? Did I hear wrong?”
Pity - “God, what did I do to deserve this?”…do you not like me?…”
Doubt – “Why do bad things always happen to me…I love God, doing his work…and yet all this stuff keeps happening to me.”
Sound familiar?
But what was Paul & Silas’ response?
v. 25 – “they were singing and praising God”
What is that?
- Positive mental attitude
- Definition: (child) – “it is the thing that makes you feel good when you feel bad”
- It is the thing that causes you keep going when things are rough…when people are negative it is what keeps you going
Great Example of Positive Mental Attitude
Story: 4th grade class
Donna was a veteran small-town Michigan Grade 4 school-teacher only two years away form retirement. In addition she was a volunteer participant in a country-wide staff development project. The training focused on language arts ideas that would empower students to feel good about themselves and take charge of their lives. Donna's job was to attend training sessions and implement the concepts being presented.
Well, her supervisor came and took an empty seat in the back of the room and watched. All the students were working on a task, filling a sheet of notebook paper with thoughts and ideas. The ten-year-old student next to me was filling her page with "I Can'ts".
"I can't kick the soccer ball past second base."
"I can't do long division with more than three numerals."
"I can't get Debbie to like me."
Her page was half full and she showed no signs of letting up. She worked on with determination and persistence.
Supervisor walked down the row glancing in student's papers. Everyone was writing sentences, describing things they couldn't do.
"I can't do ten push-ups."
"I can't hit one over the left hand fence."
"I can't eat only one cookie."
By this time the activity engaged her curiosity, so I decided to check with the teacher to see what was going on. As she approached her, she noticed that she too was busy writing.
"I can't get John's mother to come for a teacher conference."
"I can't get my daughter to put gas in the car."
"I can't get Alan to use words instead of fists."
She struggled with why they were dwelling on the negative instead of writing the more positive "I Can" statements.
Students wrote for another ten minutes. Most filled their page. Some started another.
"Finish the one you're on and don't start a new one,." were the instructions Donna used to signal the end of the activity. Students were then instructed to fold the papers in half and bring them to the front. When the students reached their teacher's desk, they placed their "I Can't" statements into an empty shoe box.
When all of the students papers were collected, Donna added hers. She put the lid on the box, tucked it under her arm and headed out the door and down the hall. Students followed the teacher.
Halfway down the hallway the procession stopped. Donna entered the custodian's room rummaged around and came out with a shovel. Shovel in one hand, shoe box in the other, Donna marched the students out to the school to the farthest corner of the playground. There they began to dig.
They were going to bury their "I Can'ts"! The digging took over ten minutes because most of the fourth graders wanted a turn. When the hole approached three feet deep, the digging ended. The box of "I Can'ts" was placed in a position at the bottom of the hole and then quickly covered with dirt.
Thirty one 10 and 11-year-olds stood around the freshly dug rave site. Each had at least one page full of "I Can'ts" in the shoe box, four feet under. So did their teacher.
At this point Donna announced, "Boys and girls, please join hands and bow your heads." The students complied. They quickly formed a circle around the grave, creating a bond with their hands. They lowered their heads and waited. Donna delivered the eulogy.
"Friends, we gather here today to honor the memory of 'I Can't.' While he was with us here on earth, he touched, the lives or everyone, some more than others. His name unfortunately, has been spoken in every public building- school, city halls, state capitols, and yes, even The White House.
"We have provided 'I Can't' with a final resting place and a headstone that contained his epitaph. His is survived by his brothers and sisters, 'I Can,' 'I Will' and 'I'm Going to Right Away.' They are not as well known as their famous relative and are certainly not as strong and powerful yet. Perhaps some day, with your help, they will make an even bigger mark on the world.
"May 'I Can't' rest in peace and may everyone present pick up their lives and move forward in his absence. Amen."
As the supervisor listened to the eulogy she realized that these students would never forget this day. The activity was symbolic, a metaphor for life. It was a right brain experience that would stick in the unconscious and conscious mind forever.
Writing "I Can'ts", burying then and hearing the eulogy. That was a major effort on this part of the teacher. And she wasn't done yet. At the conclusion of the eulogy she turned the students around, marched them back into the classroom and held a wake.
They celebrated the passing of "I Can't" with cookies, popcorn and fruit juices. As part of the celebration, Donna cut a large tombstone from butcher paper. She wrote the words "I Can't" at the top and put RIP in the middle. The date was added at the bottom.
The paper tombstone hung in Donna's classroom for the remainder of the year. On those rare occasions when a student forgot and said, "I Can't", Donna simply pointed to the RIP sign. The student then remembered that "I Can't" was dead and chose to rephrase the statement.
Supervisor:
“Now, years later, whenever I hear the phrase, "I Can't," I see images of that fourth grade funeral. Like the students, I remember that "I Can't" is dead. “
That is a positive mental attitude, and that is what Paul & Silas had.
What can we learn?
1. We can’t decide our circumstances but we can decide our attitude towards them.
What governs our attitudes?
Is it circumstances – things are good we’re good, things are bad we’re bad”
Or is it our faith?
Paul & Silas attitude was governed by their faith. Only way to explain it.
Somehow they believed …
Romans 8:28
“All things work together for good for those who love God and live according to his purpose.”
They believed that somehow all the harassment, all the whippings, the imprisonment God could use for good.
And they acted upon that belief.
Reminds me of story:
“The March 1988 Rotarian tells about a bounty of $5000 offered for each wolf captured alive. It turned Sam & Jed into fortune hunters. Day and night they scoured the hills and forests looking for their valuable prey.
Exhausted one night, they fell asleep dreaming of their potential fortune. Suddenly, Sam woke to see they were surrounded by 50 wolves with flaming eyes and bared teeth. He nudged Jed and said “Jed, wake up! We’re rich!”
Gilbert also was governed by his faith
Story:
The Pine Wood Derby”
- Cub scout derby car race…Gilbert didn’t have Dad and so made his own…wobbled, wasn’t as pretty or well pained but he won race after race.
- Finally got to final.
- Before race Gilbert called “Halt. Asked if he could take a moment to pray.”
- After he smiled and said “Okay I’m ready”
- Ended up his car won by a hair
- Gilbert jumped in the air with a loud “Thank you”
- Scout Master came over with mic in hand and asked the obvious question, “So you prayed to win, eh, Gilbert?”
- “Oh, no sir. That wouldn’t be fair to ask God to help you beat someone else. I just asked him to make it so I don’t cry when I lose.”
- Gilbert didn’t ask God to change the outcome,he prayed for God to give him the strength in the outcome.
- Perhaps we spend too much of our prayer time asking God to rig the outcomes and races of our lives, too much time asking god to remove us from the struggle…when perhaps we would be wise to seek God’s strength to get through the struggle.
We can’t change our circumstances, but our faith can certainly determine our attitude towards them.
2. Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.
In the case of Paul & Silas their attitude impacted the jailer so much that he and his whole family came to Christ.
Instead of a life governed by fear he wanted what they had – a life governed by faith.
His fear:
- Death – first by the earthquake, 2nd – by authorities. He was responsible. If prisoner escaped he would die for the breech.
He wanted what he saw. A life that never feared for it’s life, consumed with self-preservation. But rather a life governed by faith. A faith that enabled a person to sing in prison. To have joy and peace in earthquakes.
An ounce of faith brings a pound of difference
Story:
Zig Ziglar – Slater bats
21 game losing streak
Slater – went and had bats blessed before game
37 runs that game
Did the blessing make the bats come alive or did the faith in the blessing make their bats come alive?
Story:
Boy failing math – new Catholic school…1st report card – “A”
Parents: “Why?”
Nuns – No
1 on 1 tutoring? – No
Textbooks? Teachers? Curriculum? – No
“No, on that first day, when I walked in the front door and saw that guy nailed to the plus sign, I knew they meant business.”
Attitude may be a small thing but it can make a big difference.
Conclusion
What are you going through right now?
- Does it look like your undoing?
- Do you feel like God has abandoned you?
- Are you wondering why God is letting all these bad things happen to you?
Let me encourage you today to have a faith-filled attitude today in whatever you are going through.
Because it can...
- Bring you joy and peace in the most unwelcome circumstances
- It can impact your response
- It can impact others more than you might realize.
May God grant you a faith-filled attitude today.
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New International Reader's Version. 1st ed. Zondervan, 1998, S. Ac 16:16-36