Moving Forward (Week 1)

Morning.

I'm Forrest, lead pastor here at Multiply.

Welcome this morning.

If I've not met you before, glad that you are here and want you to feel at home and relaxed this morning.

Great to meet you.

My family, along with about a hundred other folks, helped to launch the work of Multiply Church coming on close to uh we're getting close to two years ago, which is uh crazy to think about.

So, but you're glad that you're here.

If you're new with us, welcome.

We're jumping into a new series today called Moving Forward.

And as we look at miracles, moments, and movements in the book of Acts, there's been different parts and different times in the life of Multiply that we have come and centered ourselves back together on the book of Acts, which is really the story of the beginnings of the church, the story of the beginnings of the disciples.

And so I'm thankful over the beginning of this year as we prepare for our own move into a new facility that's coming soon, uh, that we can recenter ourselves on the mission and work of Jesus.

Now, um, I got a question for you because this this will really divide the room today.

Um uh who is staying up until midnight to watch the ball drop?

Who of you do not care are gonna go to the go to sleep?

Um at your normal regular time.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Uh you're either one of the one or the other.

I I'm the one who stays up to watch the ball drop.

It's just something fun.

Um, I know this is a time of it being New Year's Eve that is exciting thinking about the future and this next year.

Um, there's been some uh interesting moments and important moments uh at midnight over the last few years.

Uh anybody remember Y2K?

Anybody remember back year 2000 essentially?

Uh for you young people who don't were not alive that weren't here this time.

They listen to how dumb this was.

We all thought that the computers didn't know how to go to the year 2000 and that the whole world was gonna collapse.

And we all sat there and watched the computers as it clicked by to see if the end of the world was gonna happen or not.

My family bought spam.

Um uh maybe some of your alls were preparing at that time.

Uh uh, how about this?

Anybody remember New Year's 2020?

Oh, we were all excited about 2020, weren't we?

Oh, we had all the big dreams and plans.

Every church had a 2020 vision that was gonna go.

Everybody had the 2020 vision that was going on.

Little bit we know how we think back to ourselves, all the plans that we made, we know how crazy uh 2020 ended up turning out.

But I I I do know this that already today, I'm already sensing a spirit of anticipation in what's gonna happen this next year.

Now you may be in that place of having the a spirit of anticipation, but there's also a very real and and other thought for maybe some of you today that you're you're kind of holding your breath as we move into 2024, and you maybe have some negative thoughts that are flowing about what the future may hold.

Um anybody in the House think that this year, 2024 presidential election is gonna be a breeze?

Anyone think it's just gonna be an easy time?

It's so it's so easy right now and what we've experienced over the last few years to be looking into this next year, kind of holding our breath, and have a pessimistic attitude for the year ahead.

Instead of having an attitude of the promises of God and the praises of God on your lips, inviting God into your next year.

I was listening to a smart person here recently that said, over the last few years, we've been in an age of anxiety.

Have y'all felt that?

Anxiety is an all-time high.

We experienced some tumultuous times in our life, in our country, in our world.

Anxiety around what's gonna happen in the future.

And this smart person said that we may be moving into an age of anger where folks are beginning to be disillusioned about the state of the world, our leaders, government, what's gonna happen next.

And there's a possibility of that anxiety moving into an anger of discontentment.

And as we think about what's happening in the future, we have the opportunity right now, today, to set our mindset for 2024.

And when the clock hits midnight tonight, and that special moment, for us to have a resolute faith as we enter into the future.

We're gonna look this morning at a passage with a couple of followers of Jesus, Paul and Silas, and an important midnight story in the scripture.

A midnight story that includes a miraculous work of God.

See, in Acts chapter 16, Paul, who is the apostle of the apostles of Christ that wrote most of the New Testament, the book of Acts, follows his journeys as a missionary as he goes across uh the area, the Middle East, and into Asia Minor.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

And in the chapter 16, we we we see Paul in the point of his journey where he's on his second missionary journey.

He's traveled across and is now uh at a place where he's following the Holy Spirit and his leadership of where he should go.

The Holy Spirit keeps him from going to one place, and so he ends up landing in Philippi.

And it's at Philippi in the beginning of Acts chapter 16 that he and his partner Silas they have this encounter with the demonic, and it stirs up trouble in the city that they're in, so much so that the people that are there are upset that they're preaching the truth, they're upset that they're talking about Jesus, they're upset that miracles are happening, and so they beat them and throw them into prison.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

And as they sat there in chains, in verse 25, this is what they chose to do.

Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.

And the other prisoners were listening.

They're in jail, in a cell, in chains, and what are they doing?

They're praising.

They're praising, they're praying, the other prisoners are listening.

Verse 26, suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations.

All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off.

The jailer woke up to see the prison doors were wide open, which is not what he wanted to see.

If those prisoners escaped, that would mean a punishment of death for him.

He assumed that the prisoners had escaped, and so he drew his sword to kill himself.

But Paul shouted to him, Stop! Don't kill yourself.

We're all here.

The jailer called for lights, ran into the dungeon, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

Then he 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, along with everyone in your household.

And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household.

Even at that hour of night the jailer cared for them, washed their wounds.

Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized.

And he brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced, because they all believed in God.

Paul and Silas during this missionary journey.

They have a confrontation with a demonic.

Miracle happens.

They're then beaten and suffer for the cause of Christ, and then they're thrown into jail.

And I don't know about you, but about that time, that would be the time for me where I would start having some negative thoughts.

I would start having thoughts like, wow, what have I gotten myself into?

Is this really where I want to be?

Is all this worth it right now?

But instead, what did Paul and Silas do?

They chose forward motion.

It's like, God, I don't know what you're doing right now with having us in chains, but we know that as we follow you, that you have the promise, our promises that you're gonna care for us and care for our needs.

You've also promised that we will suffer alongside you, Jesus.

And so right now, in this moment, instead of us feeling pessimistic and feeling negative and feeling sorry for ourselves and feeling bad about our future, instead, we're gonna open our mouth and we're gonna praise and we're gonna pray and we're gonna witness to those that are around us and we're gonna keep the mission moving forward.

That's a strong and bold, bold, bold choice.

And what happened because of it?

A miracle happened at midnight.

Shaken.

The foundations.

The shackles fell off.

And they saw the salvation of an unlikely person.

This jailer.

Who in that moment they should be trying to run away from, but instead, what did they say?

Stop.

Don't kill yourself.

And they shared the hope of Christ.

I know for some of you right now, and I know this because we even had discussions today, some of you right now are making decisions as you walk with Jesus and walk closely with him, that you're joining in suffering with Jesus in order to follow him and in doing so produce a good fruit in your life and for the people around you.

It's an active choice.

As we step into 2024, we can either look at the future and have negative thoughts, or we can be filled with faith of moving forward.

I know this if you're having negative thoughts, you're probably not going to have a positive result.

There's a there's somebody in our church right now that uh I love that there's forward motion in their life, and that's uh Brooke and Aaron Dockery.

Brooke and Aaron Dockery uh don't live in Frankfurt yet.

They've been friends of ours for some time.

They've been big-time supporters of Multiply.

And this last couple of days, uh Aaron and a group of men and women in our church uh spent some time doing construction projects over at our new building.

Aaron's the uh the one here with the long hair up front, and they're presently living in Somerset where we became friends years ago, and they made a decision this last year that they're gonna sell their house, move to Frankfurt just to be a part of Multiply.

Aaron's already got a new job with the uh with a firm out of Lexington, and he's been driving back and forth, and they have been waiting and waiting and waiting for their house to sell in Somerset for them to buy a house here so they can move.

And Aaron helped to lead this project over the last couple of days.

Uh, and and thank you to those that did construction over uh at the building uh for a new new platform, uh, some stuff that's in our kids' area.

There's more projects to come, but thank you guys who did that over the last couple of days.

It looks awesome.

Uh uh I was told um Aaron is an engineer.

There were also three other engineers also helping with the project.

So this is the most engineered uh platform that has ever happened.

It's safe, you know it's not gonna fall down.

Um and I think about the fact that uh Aaron came up, stayed the night in our guest room so that he could help lead this project, and he's already texted me this morning because uh they made the decision, even though they haven't moved yet, their house hasn't sold.

They're gonna be driving up on Sunday mornings to worship with us from Somerset every single week until they sell their house and move.

That's forward motion.

That's faith in the midst of suffering.

It's not working out perfectly for them.

Their house hasn't sold yet.

They've been waiting now months.

Their house has been on the market.

You know how the market is right now, but they're having forward motion.

And so over the coming weeks, we're gonna have some other opportunities for you to serve as we have this move.

We're gonna have a clean cleaning day, we're gonna have an organization day.

You can find this on the app or over at guest services, and eventually we're gonna have a move day.

And right now, right now we're just waiting on inspections.

We're just waiting on inspections to get done for inspections, inspectors to show up to give us approval so that we can set our day to move in.

So uh right now it's looking like the end of January.

If everything uh comes in this next week, inspection-wise, it may not, so everybody just keep holding tight as we set a move day.

But in the meantime, we're gonna have forward motion, aren't we, church?

In the meantime, we're gonna step in faith.

In the meantime, we're not gonna let negativity and uh and the enemy steal our joy and make us feel pessimistic about the future.

Instead, we're gonna know who holds our future.

We're gonna know that in the midst of everything that is happening, that we're gonna keep doing the good work that God's called us to.

See, it was James who gives us a pretty clear instruction in James 2.

He tells us, what good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith, but you don't show it by your actions?

Everybody say actions.

Can that kind of faith save anyone?

Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, Goodbye, have a good day, stay warm, eat well, but you don't give them any food or clothing, what good does that do?

So you see, faith by itself isn't enough unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

Now, someone may argue, some people have faith and others have good deeds, but I say, How can you show me your faith if you don't have good deeds?

I will show you my faith by my good deeds.

You say you have faith, you believe that there's one God, good for you.

Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.

In the midst of us moving forward and having this forward motion together, we're gonna continue to do the good works that God has laid out for us and called us to do, even before the beginning of time, is what Ephesians chapter 2 says that we have good works that are appointed for us to walk in.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

And in doing so and walking in the Spirit, what we're going to find as we walk is together we're going to find freedom.

At midnight, in a jail cell, these disciples decide you know what, we're gonna praise, we're gonna pray, we're gonna witness, and in doing so, the chains fell off of them.

At midnight, at an unlikely time, they found freedom.

The foundations of the jail shook and broke loose the shackles, a miracle they couldn't do on their own.

And I wonder for anybody today, is there anybody right now in this place that God wants to shake things up?

Is there anybody in the room right now that there's some shackles, some chains, some things from 2023 that you need to leave back there and let the Lord break some chains off of you?

There may be some of you that God's telling you that you've experienced something this past year, you've gone through something, you've either sinned or been sinned against, and God's looking at you and saying, Hey, it's time to shake it off and move forward in faith.

In football, if you hit somebody really hard, sometimes you get a stinger.

Whether it is, I don't even really know what it is medically.

It's just like it's like a nerve in your shoulder and it just hurts and your arm just goes limp like this.

And what does the coach tell you to do?

Shake it off.

Shake it off.

I played when I was playing football in college at Cumberland.

One practice, I hit a guy, my shoulder came out of place, back into place, and what I keep doing, I kept practicing.

Ended up having surgery, have to have surgery for that.

But you know what?

I just walked it off.

That's what they tell you to do.

Just walk it off.

I just shook it a bit and then kept going.

Played out the rest of the season.

Because sometimes you gotta shake things up, shake things off, move forward in faith, and in doing so find the freedom that God has in store for you.

There's an active decision and action that comes when you decide that you're gonna break chains.

See, God wants nothing more for every person in this room for you to be walking in freedom.

Freedom from fear, freedom from sin, freedom from discouragement, freedom from negative attitude.

And as you walk closely with Jesus and you worship him well, and in doing so, and with his people, God is gonna do the miracle of helping you to break the chains.

It's not on your own.

See, at midnight, for Paul and Silas, worship was a weapon.

And it wasn't that just because both those words start with W.

It's because Jesus himself was the one that said that if the Son of Man be lifted up, it will draw all men to myself.

That there's a there's an there's an active action and war that goes on when you worship and lift up your voice to God.

Why is that?

Because when you worship God, you don't worship yourself.

Me and you, we are terrible gods.

We're terrible.

We'll let ourselves down every time.

But the world wants nothing more than for us to worship ourselves, to worship our own experience, to worship our own truth, to worship our own preferences.

But when you worship the one true God, when you worship Him and you take the focus off of yourself and you humble yourself, that worship will help you to find freedom.

It did for Paul and Silas.

It did then did for a jailer who was at the place of desperation to kill himself, but instead Paul and Silas wasn't the only ones who were set free.

But also the jailer and his entire household who were safe for eternity.

What I love about this story is the miracle would have been enough for the chains to fall off, for Paul and Silas to hop up, run out of the jail, run back to their buddies, and say, Can you believe it?

Can you believe it?

God freed us.

But that's not the whole story.

The story was that even though they were free, they chose to give freedom to somebody else.

The jailer, who should have been their enemy, who should have been the person that they were angry at and upset at.

Who were holding them down.

But instead they stayed.

They said, We're all here.

And then they shared the good news with him.

They fought for him.

Not just for themselves.

In this new year, we get to stay encouraged with the work that we're doing, the good deeds that we're doing, the following of the Holy Spirit that we're doing.

That we're joining the Lord as we fight the good fight.

These good deeds.

That are gonna shine out before men and people.

As we fight the good fight.

Fight the good fight for the true faith.

Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you which you have declared so well before many witnesses.

Taking action, moving forward, stepping forward.

Not just for ourselves, but for those that are around us.

We get to stand firm.

We get to fight.

Yeah, I think about the life of our church.

The last couple years that we've experienced.

And in so many ways, our moments here at the movie theater and before at the office space, the treasury building, and before that, and homes and houses around the city.

This has been us in this season of founding the work of Multiply.

So if you're if you're here right now in this movie theater, even if it's your first Sunday, guess what?

You've joined in with the founding of Multiply Church.

Turn to your neighbor and say, I'm a founder.

And there are some of us in the room, in the next season of our church, they're gonna move from being simply a founder to being a fighter.

Being a fighter.

Not amongst ourselves, but a fighter for the glory of God.

They're gonna fight the good fight.

They're gonna say, There's so many more people here in our community and surrounding area that need the light and love of Jesus.

We've got to go.

We've got to fight.

We've got to push back the darkness.

There are more people for us to serve.

There are more people for us to come alongside.

There are more people for us to walk with.

There are more people for us to share the gospel with.

There are more things in our community that need the light and love of Jesus and redemption to be restored.

And we're gonna keep doing the good work of seeing Frankfurt move forward.

In the midst of our move and in moving to a space where we could just be all about ourselves, you know what we're gonna do?

We're gonna keep serving the community.

We already have another local school that wants us to come alongside them and help them in the beginning of the year.

And more details are to come on that.

But guess what?

We're gonna do it.

Because they asked.

Can we help with this?

And so we're in talks and communication with them.

If you missed last week with our Christmas service, we got to celebrate the fact that we got to help and sponsor Christmas for over 50 children who are impacted by incarceration.

Two of those boys, two of those boys this last Christmas was their first Christmas without their father because their father was murdered this last year by a family member.

And so we got to bring the light and love of Jesus to that home by way of Christmas morning to those two little boys.

We're gonna keep doing that.

We're gonna keep fighting the good fight.

Can I share with you the rest of the story?

Do you mind if I share with you the rest of the story?

I love the fight.

And Paul and Silas.

Verse 35.

The next morning, the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, let those men go.

So the jailer told Paul, the city officials have said to you and Silas, said that you and Silas are free to leave, go in peace.

But Paul replied, They have publicly beaten us without a trial, they put us in prison, and we're Roman citizens.

Which is Roman citizens, that means they had privileges.

That means that they needed a trial.

That means that they had rights.

So now they want us to leave in secret?

Certainly not.

Let them come tell uh let them come come themselves to release us.

And in verse 38, when the police, when the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.

So they came to the jail and apologized to them.

Isn't that hilarious?

Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city.

Then Paul and Silas left the prison and they returned to the home of Lydia, who had come to Christ in that city and who began to start the beginnings of a church plant in Lydia's home.

Out of Lydia's home.

And there they met with believers and encouraged them once more.

Then they left town.

Don't you just love the fight?

They had certain privileges.

As Roman citizens.

They had certain rights.

And they could have just gone away quietly.

But instead they kept fighting.

And they said, no, this this situation's gonna be made right.

Then the very people who put them in prison apologize to them.

And then you go and encourage the believers who are there.

That we know establish the church of Philippi.

That Paul later later Paul would write letters to to encourage them and speak to them.

Words that encourage us still today.

And I'm wondering right now in the room who right now ahead of 2024 needs to join the fight.

The founding And now to be thinking about, God, who is it you want for me to be a witness to this next year?

What is it, God, that you want to accomplish in and through my life and the work of our church?

What is it that you want to do?

And we got one more day to reflect before the new year begins.

For you to ask the Lord, what is it that you want to do?

What is it that you want to do through me?

Who are the people in my life who I can fight the good fight for?

And maybe for you, there's some of you in the room today that today you need to fight the good fight for yourself right now.

You need to find freedom that God so desperately wants to give you today.

Change to fall off so that you can walk in a new life.

Saved, secure, in his hand, forgiven, on a new path to a place called heaven and eternity and the kingdom of God here on earth, instead of worshiping yourself, that will ultimately lead you to a place separated from God by your own choosing into hell.

Today is a day for you to step up and say, No, I'm gonna fight for my freedom.

I'm gonna fight the good fight to receive the good work that Jesus did for me on the cross, to receive the forgiveness and the rights and the privilege and the advantage that he bought for me in my place on the cross so that I wouldn't have to endure that, that I wouldn't have to someday die, but instead, from this day forward, you can live forever.

Is there somebody in the room today that today that's your decision?

Is there somebody in your life that you know needs to make that decision?

Will you bow your heads as we pray for them?

Father, we thank you, God, that we're moving forward, not by our power, but in faith in you.

God, that the foundation of that faith is us stepping forward in action.

And so, Father, as we prepare for us to move physically, but also, Lord, we're walking in your movement.

God, what you've called us to.

Father, I pray right now, all across the room, that you would bring to mind and to heart people in our lives that desperately need to know you, Jesus, to follow you, to receive you, to be forgiven by you, to be restored by you.

God, bring them to mind.

As we reflect on what this new year can bring, I pray right now, God, all across the room, if anybody, for anyone who is in this place, God, that has not received you as Savior, who's not yet found the freedom that they have in you, by receiving your forgiveness on the cross, that today would be the day of their salvation.

And if that be you today, you pray to God and ask for salvation and ask for forgiveness and ask for Him to enter into your life.

And you ask Him right now and say, Jesus, save me.

Pray it in your mind and heart in a genuine place.

Jesus, save me.

I believe that you're the Son of God, that you died on the cross for my sins, that you are alive, and that I am forgiven.

Cleanse me.

Wash me so that I might be in heaven with you one day.

Thank you for saving me.

I give you my life as you gave yours for mine.

All across the room.

If you prayed that prayer today, I'm gonna ask you in just a moment if you would, as a sign of your sincerity to God, would make a motion and an action to raise your hand.

Not for me or anybody else, but as a as a sign of action towards God, as a confirmation of your decision, that you raise your hand and put it back down at the count of three.

Anybody in this place?

One, two, three.

If that's you, raise your hand.

Yep.

See you?

I see you too.

I see you as well.

I see you in the back.

I see all of you.

I see you also in the back.

I see all four of you.

Right now, God.

For each person who has raised their hand right now as a sign of receiving you, that God, right now, you would seal it by the power of the Holy Spirit.

God, as they prayed to you and ask for your forgiveness from a genuine place.

That God, you would see them, you would hear their prayer, and that God, today would be the day, God, of their salvation.

That from this day forward, God, that they would walk with you.

That today, that they would walk in newness, that you would create a new heart and mind in them.

And that, God, from this day forward, that they will walk with you now and in eternity in heaven.

Thank you, God.

For those four today who's received you.

Father, I pray, God, that it would not stop today, but Lord, that they would take action and they would follow you, and they would receive you, and they would walk with you, that they would join this church, be a part of the work that's going on here, Father.

That God, they would take action.

Father, in following God to receive you, to be baptized, to work out their salvation, Father.

As your scripture says, in fear and trembling.

God, we thank you for this day.

We praise you, God.

We thank you for your goodness and your mercy.

We love you.

In Jesus' name.

Everybody said, Amen.

Church, will you celebrate together?

New life in this place as you stand as we close in worship.