Unstoppable Through Opposition | Luke Richards | ACTS Series

FA Admin: Welcome to the Faith Alive Sermon Podcast. This is a replay of a past sermon from Faith Alive Church. Whether you missed it, want to hear it again, or share it with someone you know, we're glad you're here. This sermon is by Luke Richards, Youth Director at Faith Alive Church. Today is such a great day to be in the Lord's house. Again, my name is Luke. If we haven't met, I'm the youth director here at Faith Alive. It's great to be here this morning, and I'm so grateful for this opportunity to speak. It's it's truly an honor that I don't take lightly. And ⁓ just thank you so much for allowing me to be here. ⁓ especially Pastor Jordan. I know you're watching online today. Thank you so much for trusting me with this platform. I really appreciate it. We love you so much. He's on vacation. I believe he's traveling back today, just spending time with his family. ⁓ we just pray that it was an amazing vacation, Pastor Jordan. And we'll see you when you when you get back. And ⁓ yeah, I know some of you guys may have brought some relatives today, and you're like, Pastor Jordan's the best preacher ever. You got to come listen to him to him to Sunday. And then you then you get me. Hey, I wear like a badge of honor. It's more like it's not like a you get me. No, it's y'all get me. Yeah. It's gonna be good. I'm used to speaking to the teens, right? They all know I'm weird. You guys are finding out for the first time. So praise God. It's gonna be awesome. But yeah, it's gonna be a great day. Man, for the last several weeks, we've been going through as a church, ⁓ going through the book of Acts. And I encourage you if you haven't had a chance to read it through yet, either when the series is over, when you leave today, whatever's best for you. Read it. Read it from the front to the back because Acts is one of those powerful books because we see so much happening packed into just this one book. It's one of those books that reminds us that the church, God's church, was never just meant to be ordinary. It was never meant to be quiet. It was never meant to be silenced, right? It was meant to do extraordinary things. We see so many things happen in the book of Acts. We say we watch the Holy Spirit fall at Pentecost. We've watched ordinary people become bold witnesses in faith. Y'all, that's my that's my testimony right there. We've watched thousands come to faith in Jesus. And we've watched the gospel spread farther and farther despite every attempt to stop it. And as we've walked through this series, this one thing has become more and more clear, at least for me. When God moves, opposition will show up. When God moves, there's always gonna be something. Driving against you. So the title of the message today is Unstoppable Through Opposition. Unstoppable through opposition. When you read the book of Acts, you see it over and over again. That force of opposition. Peter and John are arrested because they're preaching the gospel. Stephen is killed because he refuses to stop proclaiming the truth. And through all this, the church is scattered through persecution. Now, if you looked at only these moments, church, this is why I say go back and read it. If you looked at only these moments, you might think the enemy is winning. But how many of y'all know God has already won? Come on. Amen. But what's amazing is every time opposition rises, the gospel keeps spreading, the church keeps growing, the Holy Spirit keeps moving. And what the enemy meant to stop, God used to move his mission forward. And it's still true today. Amen. Amen. So that's the truth. That I want us to hold on to this morning. The mission of God is bigger than the resistance of the world. It's bigger than the resistance of the enemy. It's far bigger than we can ever imagine. And all we have to do, church, is just receive. That's all we have to do. Isn't that amazing? So today we're gonna see that lived out in one of the more well-known stories in Acts. And that's Paul and Silas in prison. I love this story because it's a powerful testimony of what comes from it. And I believe that this story has something to say to each and every one of us this morning. Because sooner or later, We're all we're all gonna find ourselves asking the same question or at least a similar question. What do you do when you're faithfully following God and you still find yourself facing opposition? One of the misconceptions that we have as Christians, life will get easier once we give our lives to Christ. It's not it's not always the case, right? Not always the case. There's always something opposing us, right? But God is stronger than that. God is greater than that. So, what do you do when you're faithfully following God and you still find yourself facing opposition? So before we open God's word, let's pray and then we're gonna dive right in. Lord Jesus, we love you so much. We thank you for allowing us to be here today as a free nation, being able to freely worship you, share the truth of the gospel, and watch people come to know you. Lord Jesus, I pray for this message that it's about that's about to go forth. God, Lord, would you just speak through me? I am just your servant today. Would you speak through me, God? Help me to speak the truth of your word today. Well, Lord, let us receive it. We are hungry. We are ready for what you have. Wake us up today, spiritually and physically. We love you so much. We give you the praise in Jesus' name. Everyone said, Amen. If you have your Bible, ⁓ let's turn to Acts chapter 16 today. And if you don't have your Bible, that's okay. We'll have the verses up on the screen behind me. But before we dive into the scripture itself, I'm just gonna give you a little bit of context. So, Paul and Silas. Have arrived in the city of Philippi because the Lord led them there. And their mission was simple: preach the gospel and make Jesus known. That was their mission, right? So as we read verses 16 to 18, just to start us off, but we're gonna see how all of this unfolds and how God uses something that starts off as maybe not a big deal, but uses it to do something amazing. So let's read verses 16 to 18, Acts chapter 16. Let's read together. Once when we were going to the place of prayer. We were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved. She kept this up for many days, but finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her. At that moment, the spirit left her. Praise God. I love that verse. You ever just become so annoyed? No, I'm kidding. But now, if this were our story, this were our narrative, right? We look at this and we already see the miracle just from these two verses alone. We see a young woman who has been impressed by a spirit come find freedom in the name of Jesus. And we ourselves, we celebrate, right? And we think that's the end of the story. But in this case, that's not what happened, right? That we think that, you know, everyone's everyone in the city celebrated, not in not in this case, because this woman's owners weren't interested in her freedom. They were more interested in their profit. So what happened was, I'm gonna skip a couple of verses, but what happened was their hope of money money making was gone. So they dragged Paul and Silas before the authorities, before the magistrates, stirred the crowd against them, made false accusations against them, and then they were beaten, chained up, thrown into prison. That sounds a little bit like opposition, right? I want you to notice that they didn't end up in prison because they were outside God's will. They were not. They were walking in God's very will. They were doing the thing that God had clearly assigned them to do, right? They ended up there because they were faithful to his will, despite the consequences that they might face. So they were doing what they were called to do, regardless of where they would end up. Church, that is faith. That is the faith that I strive to have. That is the faith that we should all strive to have, being faithful to God regardless of what happens to us. That is the faith I want to have. So that brings us to point one today. Point one, faithfulness doesn't eliminate opposition. Faithfulness doesn't eliminate opposition. So Paul and Silas again didn't end up in prison because they had missed God's will. They were not outside it. They end up there because they followed it and people got mad about it, right? Think about everything they've done up until this point. They have obeyed the Holy Spirit, they have preached the gospel, seen someone delivered, they've done exactly what they were called to do, and because of that, they were beaten, thrown into prison, and then they were left there. Can you imagine being in that scenario? Can you imagine how easy it would be to just begin questioning everything you're doing? And you know, that might be us, even in our own walks. So it doesn't necessarily have to look like that, but it can simply look at look like. I'm trying to get ahead in this, but I feel this force pushing against me. In those moments, it would be easy to ask questions like, Lord, I thought you called me here. Lord, I'm just trying to see people saved. Lord, why would you let this happen? Now I want you to know this: these prayers are not wrong prayers at all. We can got we can ask God questions. He loves when we come to him and sometimes just ask why. God welcomes it, right? He doesn't ignore these prayers, right? Have you ever prayed a prayer that hard? Come on. For us, it may look like God, I've given my life to you, but life keeps getting harder. Lord, I'm tithing, but I'm still waiting on your provision. Lord, I'm praying for this family member, this friend to be healed. Lord, we're not seeing the breakthrough. Lord, I'm praying for my kids who are struggling with their faith. And Lord, we're just not seeing the breakthrough happen yet. And again, these are real questions. God welcomes them. The last time I was up here on this stage, I talked about God being known as Abba Father. That's how He wants to be known. He wants to, He wants to, you know, hear our prayers, regardless of what they might sound like. But again, these are real questions. God doesn't ignore them, but this book, this chapter, reminds us of something that we do all need to hear today. Faithfulness is not measured by the absence of opposition in your life. It's it's revealed by how we respond to it and what we do next. That's how faithfulness is measured. And that's where the book of Acts takes us next next. We're gonna read verse 25, and we're gonna see how after all of this being beaten, thrown into prison, how Paul and Silas respond. And it's extraordinary. Let's read together verse 25. About midnight, Paul and Silas were singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. We're just gonna stop right here for a moment. Cause I think we've Whether we've heard this story many times, or maybe you're hearing it for the first time, there's weight to it. This isn't a worship night at church. This isn't a Sunday morning. This isn't a Wednesday night. For my students, this isn't Wednesday night youth. Right? This is midnight in an inner prison cell. It's probably cold. It's probably horrible living conditions, right? They're bleeding, they're wounded, bound by chains. They were just publicly humil humiliated and accused of things that they didn't do. And yet, their response, singing hymns to God and praying. This response, for me at least, it's not natural. I've been there having this response be, Lord, why is this happening? Why, why can't I complain? Why not complain? Why not quit? Why sing? Why do all of this because all this stuff is happening? Well, point two answers that. Point two today, worship invites God's presence. Worship invites God presence God's presence. Prayer invites God's presence. So if you know me, I love worship. I've been involved with in ⁓ several worship teams since I was 14. I love, you know, playing guitar, singing to God. But I also just love bringing all that praise that God is worthy of to Him. I love even more when the church gathers together and we lift our voices to Jesus. I love hearing the people sing. Y'all were loud this morning. Come on, that's right. We're not holding back today. And I love seeing you guys encounter the presence of God. But can I tell you something that I've learned after years of leading worship? Some of the most powerful worship that I have experienced wasn't when everything was going right. Granted, yes, I'm praising God. I'm celebrating when things are going right. But the most powerful worship that I have ever experienced was when I had a million reasons not to. And chose to anyway. I got a feeling some people came in with that mindset. Million reasons that you might think I'm not gonna praise today. But choosing to worship, choosing to praise, choosing to go to God despite your circumstances, that is faith. That is faith. And it's not just true for me, it's not just true for you. It's exactly what Paul and Silas were doing. They were worshiping because they knew God was still worthy, even though nothing around them had changed. They still knew God was worthy even though they were in this position. They knew the mission was far greater than the resistance they'd faced. They knew what they were signing up for, right? That's one of the greatest acts of faith a believer can make. When all these forces are against you, going to God in prayer, saying, God, I don't have all the answers, but I trust you. That is faith. Going to God in prayer, saying, God, I know my circumstances might change, but I know you won't. God, I know people will fail me, but you won't. I know these things will push against me. God, you're calling me forward. And when Paul and Silas choose to worship in the prison, the same thing happens when you and I do the same. When you and I choose to worship despite the circumstances around us. We truly see what God is up to. We see what God is doing in those moments. Why? Because our focus is no longer on the thing that is demanding for our attention, but is not deserving of it. We put our focus back on God in those moments. So back to this when Paul and Silas choose to worship in the middle of the prison, something happened. Verse 26, let's read it together. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and at once all prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose. Remember, if we back up a verse before, the other prisoners were listening. It wasn't just Paul and Silas, the other prisoners were listening. This wasn't something that God did just for Paul and Silas. It's something that He did through Paul and Silas and even for those prisoners in the prison, right? People are always listening. People are watching for your response. People are watching to see the fruit that you know Jesus. People are seeing your response of how you respond to opposition, right? But think about this. Can you imagine being here in this moment? One moment you're sitting in complete darkness, and then the next. The prison is shaking beneath your feet. Come on. And what I love about it is this: Paul and Silas physically didn't have the power to break their own chains. They couldn't open the prison doors themselves. They couldn't free themselves, but God could. God could. Church, there are things that we face that only God can fix. There are things that only God can do. There are chains that you can't break in your own strength that I can't break in my own strength. There are burdens that we can't carry ourselves, burdens that we shouldn't have to carry ourselves. There's doors that we can't close, that we can't close, that doors we can't open, right? That's why, again, prayer and worship matters. And going beyond just worship, we love our worship songs. Cry out to Jesus. That's why this matters, because again, it takes our focus not on the thing that's trying to hold us down, but it puts us back on God. It matters because not not just because worship is a formula that guarantees a miracle, but because worship keeps our eyes on God who is able to do what we can't. And what's amazing, church, you guys ready for this? It doesn't stop here. This it doesn't stop at this verse. Again, we read this verse and we think, praise God, it's a miracle. And it was. But the story keeps going. If this story was only about Paul and Silas getting out of that prison, the pr the story would have ended here and they would have moved on to the next thing. But here's the thing: God wasn't just doing something for Paul and Silas, He was doing something through them. So point three today: God has purpose in the prison. God has purpose. When we have those moments of opposition, God has a purpose for it. When we face things, when we have struggles. There is a purpose for it, right? Because here's the thing: God will always work things together for good for those who love him and been called according to his purpose. We see this very clearly with Paul and Silas right here. And we see it even now today. There are miracles happening every single day. But again, the story didn't stop with Paul and Silas church. We are about to see the greatest miracle. Verse 27, let's read. 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. We're let's stop here for a moment. So the severity of the punishment of a prison guard, the jailer, losing not just a whole prison, but two high profile prisoners, the punishment was pretty severe. And the jailer saw one way out. The jailer saw one way out. But we're going to see God move in an amazing way. Let's keep reading. 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? Come on. I love this part of the story, right? Because it takes our focus not off one thing and puts it right on a new thing. But also, if I was Paul in this situation, I was gone. If those if those if those chains broke and the doors fell, ps peace, see you later. Right? That's a that's the real response, right? If I was Paul, I'm gone. But Paul doesn't leave. In this moment, Paul realizes something bigger than his own freedom. It w this story, it's not just about Paul, not just about Silas, not just about the prison. It was about that jailer. Think about it. The enemy thought he had completely stopped the spread of the gospel in this place. He thought he had the upper hand, but what he didn't realize was that this prison just became a mission field. It just became a mission field and the gospel was brought to a person who needed to hear the truth about Jesus. So the jailer, he's asking, What do I do to be saved? Paul at Paul told him, Don't harm yourself. We are all here. Can you imagine the weight that was lifted off of that jailer? Not just the fact that the prisoners didn't escape, but Paul told him exactly what he needed to hear in this moment. Don't harm yourself. We are all here. I believe that's a message for someone in this place. We are all here. If you look around you, you're not the only person in this church, in this room. Person online you're watching this, you're not the only one. We are all here rallying around, praying for you because we want to see amazing things happen in your life through Christ Jesus. And then he asks, What must I do to be saved? The doors falling down, that was a miracle. The chains breaking, that was a miracle. This is the miracle right here. Verse 31. 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 his and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house, set a meal before them, because he was filled with joy, because he had come to believe in God, he and his whole household. Praise God. Trent, you can come at this time. A few hours earlier, the enemy thought he had won, thought he had the upper hand. Now, not just one man, but an entire household has found Jesus. Church, it starts with one of you. If you are that one person in your family, hang on to that faith. Show your spouse what it's like to follow Jesus. Show your kids what it's like to follow Jesus. Students in this place, show your parents, show your brothers and sisters what it's like to have faith in Jesus and watch what God can do. Again, a few hours earlier, the enemy thought he had won, but now an entire household knows Jesus. Cause God takes the things that the enemy meant for evil and turns them for good every single time. Amen. And just a reminder: every time God moves, opposition will show up. But when it does, the gospel will keep spreading. The church will keep growing. The Holy Spirit will keep moving. And heaven gets a little bit more crowded every time. Because the mission of God is bigger than the resistance of the world. It's bigger than the resistance of the enemy. Anything that he tries to throw against you, God is bigger than that. The prison and chains didn't stop the mission. Instead, they were used to put the gospel in front of a man who desperately needed Jesus. So let me ask you this: if God can turn a prison into a mission field, imagine what he can do with the opposition you're facing right now. Imagine what God can do when he finally breaks those chains in your life. When God brings you out of that cell, when God invites you into relationship with him, imagine what God can do. God can do amazing things. We see this very clearly in scripture, and I believe it still to this day. Why? Because God did it for me. God did it for me. So if you're here today and you're walking through that season of opposition where you're just trying to get ahead, maybe you've been discouraged, maybe you're asking why all this is happening and every force feels like it's against you. I want you I want you to remember, stay faithful, keep praying, stay in God's word, keep worshiping, keep trusting. Because again, opposition doesn't get the final word. God does. Amen. Let's all stand together in this place today. Let's all stand. So of course I don't know what your prison will look like. I don't know what your chains might feel like. I don't know the things you're facing. But I do know this. The same God who was with Paul and Silas in that prison is still with you today. He has not changed one bit. If you need his strength, if you need his peace, if you need faith to just keep moving forward, we are praying for you. We want to pray for you. If you're just facing these forces of opposition and you feel like you just can't get a step forward, keep praying. Stay faithful. Don't let the enemy shake you. Because you know, I believe this. When there's forces against you, when the enemy is opposing what you're doing, he sees you as a threat. The enemy is not threatened by anyone who's not making an impact. The enemy is not threatened by someone who's not staying in the word. The enemy is threatened by people who are out spreading the truth of the gospel. The enemy is threatened by people giving their lives to Jesus. When you give your life to Jesus, you become dangerous to the enemy and his mission. That is what he's trying to come against. But, church, I'm gonna tell you something you already know. He is a defeated foe. The end is already written. God remains strong. He remains on the throne. God has already won. The enemy knows his end. Mission of God is far bigger than him. So maybe you're here today and you're walking through that season of doubt, keep praying. Or maybe you're in here and watching online and this morning and you're more like that jailer. Maybe you're here today, whether it's for the first time, or you're just coming back to him and you're asking the same question he asked, What must I do to be saved? Church, the answer is still the same. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus says there's he is the way, the truth, and the life. No man will come to the Father except through him. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. So with every head bowed in this place, every eye closed. If you haven't given your life to Jesus, or maybe you've been away for a while and you want to come back with every with every head bowed, every eye closed, if that's you, I just invite you to raise your hand. Again, whether it's your first time or maybe you're coming back to him in a long time, God's welcoming you back today. So, what I want us to do together, we're gonna repeat this prayer all together as a church. No one left out. We're all gonna pray this prayer together. Repeat after me, Dear Jesus, today I give you my life. I believe you died on the cross for my sins. And rose again so I could have new life. Please forgive me of my sin. Make me new. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. And help me follow you every day. Today I choose to trust you. As my Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Come on, lift up a shout of praise. Thanks for listening to the Faith Alive Sermon podcast. We hope this message encouraged you. If it did, be sure to subscribe or share it with someone else who may need it. If you want to get connected or reach out to one of our pastors, go to our website at faithalive.church. We'll see you next time. ⁓

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