Rejoice Reaction

Overview

The Rejoice Reaction

Every action invites a reaction, and in Acts 16:19-24 we see two very different ones unfold. When Paul casts a demonic spirit out of a slave girl, her owners react with rage—not because of any spiritual concern, but because "their hope of making money was gone." Their accusations against Paul and Silas are vague and trumped-up; the real grievance is economic. Paul would later warn Timothy that "those who want to be rich fall into temptation" 1 Timothy 6:9, and the same disordered love of money fuels the craftsmen's rage in Acts 19. What follows is brutal and unjust: Paul and Silas are stripped, beaten with rods by professional floggers, denied any trial (a violation of Roman law for Roman citizens), thrown into the innermost cell among the worst criminals, and fastened in stocks designed for torture.

The question is: what is their reaction to all of this? Scripture often shows reactions controlled by circumstances rather than by God. The spies in Numbers 13 acknowledged the land flowed with milk and honey—"yet" the inhabitants looked too strong, and they shrank into grasshoppers in their own eyes. Peter walked on water with his eyes on Jesus, "but when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink" Matthew 14:30. When our gaze drifts from God's promises to our circumstances, those circumstances become the midwife to doubt, fear, and anxiety. We can begin to live as functional atheists—confessing God with our lips while reacting as though He were not on His throne.

Paul and Silas show another way. "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God" Acts 16:25. Beaten, bleeding, and bound, they rejoiced. Later Paul would write to this very church, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice" Philippians 4:4, and to the Thessalonians, "Rejoice always" 1 Thessalonians 5:16. Christian rejoicing is not rejoicing in the circumstances—we don't pretend suffering is good—but rejoicing in the Lord who reigns over them. You can weep over your circumstances and rejoice in the Lord at the same time.

The pastoral application is twofold. First, repent. Confess the moments you have lived as a functional atheist—when anxiety consumed you, when you accused God of absence, when wind and waves seemed bigger than His promises. Hear the gospel: Christ has borne even those sins on the cross. You are washed, claimed, and heaven-bound, and the One who holds you holds every one of your days. Second, receive. When the impulse to rejoice rises in the middle of your hardest night—even through tears—recognize its Author. God does not merely command rejoicing; through Word and sacrament He empowers what He commands, and He will keep giving that gift, every single day.

Transcript

reactions. Reactions. We all have them. Don't we? 1s

That's sometimes the best thing is just not to react, right? 5s

But if you want to press the point, even not reacting is a reaction, right? 11s

Reaction can be joy. It can be sorrow. It can be laughter. It can be tears. 20s

We have a whole host of reactions. 23s

We're going to study today the reaction from our story from last week. 29s

Now just to remind you, there was a slave girl that had a demonic spirit. 36s

And Paul, by the power of God, cast out that demonic spirit from that slave girl. 42s

That slave girl was giving fortunes. She was a fortune teller. 49s

So as we studied last week, God liberated that slave girl from the demonic spirit that was within her. 55s

And that was birthing these fortunes being told. 65s

Well, that action gave rise to a reaction. 71s

And that's what we're going to study this morning. 76s

I'd like to do this please. As we work through this text together, as we go vers my verse, 79s

I hope that you will ponder your own life. 87s

And ask yourself this question. 91s

How do I react to things? 95s

Let's get to work. 104s

Look with me, please, at verse 19 of chapter 16. 106s

There we read this. 110s

But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and silice and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. 112s

Well, what's the reaction here? 128s

Reactions anger, right? 131s

And why are they angry? 133s

Scripture tells us their hope of making money was gone. 135s

That demonic spirit that was allowing her to do these fortunes. 142s

Now, simply an act of Satan here, that was gone. 146s

And they were making no small sum. 150s

Jump back up into verse 16, where it says, one day as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune telling. 152s

So their reaction, their reaction of anger, is because it's affecting them economically, right? 170s

And a few weeks, we're going to get to Acts the 19th chapter. 179s

And there's a story of some craftsmen. 183s

The craftsmen were making these little shrines to this false god. 185s

Well, as Christianity was spreading, that was hurting their business. 191s

And they weren't too pleased about it. 195s

You can see that there was anger in the 19th chapter. 198s

Paul says this, first Timothy 6. 202s

But those who want to be rich, full into temptation, in our trap, by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 206s

So what's the issue? 223s

There means for making money here, has ended. 226s

What's the reaction? 229s

They are angry about this. 231s

Next verse, verse 20. 239s

When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, these men are disturbing our city. 242s

They are Jews. 250s

Anti-semitism? 254s

It's nothing new, right? 257s

Ponder this a little bit. 262s

When Paul would go into a town, where would Paul go first to witness? 265s

Do you remember? 271s

Go in the synagogues. 272s

Remember when he came into Philippi? 275s

And there's no mention of a synagogue there? 277s

So where did he go? 280s

He went down by the river because that's where if a town didn't have a synagogue, that's where the Jews would gather. 282s

They'd gathered there for prayer. 288s

So that's why Paul goes down to the river to meet the Jews. 290s

Consider this. 295s

You would have to have ten men in a city to form a synagogue. 298s

So the fact that Paul comes in to Philippi, and there's no synagogue? 304s

What does that tell you? 308s

There weren't even ten men in Philippi to form a synagogue. 311s

We were even ten men. 317s

Now ask yourself this. 318s

How much of a threat were the Jews? 322s

How much of a threat were they? 325s

This was a tiny, tiny little handful of people that didn't even have enough people to start a synagogue that were meeting down for prayer 326s

by the river. 338s

We go on. 342s

Verse 21. 344s

They're advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe. 347s

Now do you hear the crickets in that verse about what the customs are? 359s

They didn't know the customs. 368s

There's making this up. 371s

They didn't even list any charge. 374s

They just say they're advocating customs that Romans should follow. 376s

They're angry. 383s

What are they angry about? 385s

They're pocketbooks, been affected. 389s

They're pocketbooks. 392s

That's why they're angry. 394s

Be go on. 398s

Verse 22. 401s

The crowd joined and attacking them. 402s

The magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 403s

People that would do this in ancient day were called lictors. 412s

If you can imagine this, that was their profession. 415s

That's what they did. 418s

It's all they did is they would beat people until the officials would say stop beating them. 419s

It's all they did. 427s

This would have been understood in the community as a profound expression of disgrace. 430s

The chief expression of disgrace would be if you were executing. 436s

Right underneath that is exactly what they experienced. 440s

Verse 23. 445s

After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. 447s

There's no due process here. 456s

There's no jury. 460s

There's no trial. 461s

In fact, it was against the law when they just did. 464s

Why? 466s

Because Paul and Silas were Romans. 467s

They didn't know of it. 469s

But in Roman law, no Roman could ever be cast into prison without an official trial. 470s

And so here they are just tossed into prison. 479s

No due process at all. 482s

Next verse. 486s

Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 488s

The innermost cell was that region that was reserved for the worst of the criminals. 497s

And the word there that's used for fastened their feet, fastened in the stocks. 505s

Suffice it to say, that's a word for torture. 513s

Torture. 517s

Let's just sum this up. 520s

They are beaten. 524s

There's no due process. 527s

They're thrown into prison, which is against the law with no due process for a Roman. 530s

They're thrown into the compartment of the prison that held the worst of the prisoners. 536s

And they are being tortured in prison. 541s

Here's the question. 544s

And what was there? 545s

Reaction. 549s

What was there? 551s

Reaction. 555s

I think of numbers that 13th chapter. 559s

There in the story, remember the Lord was leading the people to the Promised Land. 563s

They send spies into the land. 568s

The Scripture tells us, at the end of 40 days, they return from spying out the land. 572s

And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the Israelites in the wilderness. 578s

And the rest of Paran and Kadesh. 583s

They brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. 586s

And they told them, we came to the land to which you sent us. 591s

It flows with milk and honey. 595s

And this is its fruit. 598s

And then the very next word. 604s

Yet. 609s

Now what does that tell you? 612s

Tell us the things are about to change in assessment, right? 617s

Yet the people who live in the land are strong and the towns are fortified and very large and besides this, 624s

we saw the descendants of Annec there. 630s

Then the men who had gone up with him said, we're not able to go up against this people. 635s

But they're stronger than we are. 638s

So they brought to the Israelites an unfavorable report of the land that they had spied out saying, 642s

the land that we had gone through is spies is the land that defowers its inhabitants. 648s

And all the people that we saw in it are of a great size. 654s

There we saw the Nephilim. 658s

And to ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers and so we seemed to them. 660s

What's the problem here? 670s

Where's their focus? 673s

Is their focus on the promises of God and who he is? 677s

Or is the focus on their circumstances? 684s

Because you see when the focus becomes on the circumstances, 690s

the circumstances can be the midwife to doubt, to fear, to anxiousness, 696s

because their reaction is not looking to God. 709s

Their reaction was looking to the inhabitants of the land, right? 714s

I think of Mark or Matthew 14. 725s

There in Matthew 14th chapter we read this, Peter answered Jesus. 729s

Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water, he said, come. 735s

So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water and came toward Jesus. 741s

In the very next word, starting the very next verse. 749s

But, now you know what that means, right? 760s

Here's Peter with his eyes on Jesus. 765s

He's walking on the water, right? 767s

But, when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened and beginning to sink. 773s

He cried out, Lord, saved me. 780s

What's it? 786s

See the eyes are on Jesus and he's walking on the water, 790s

because his eyes are on the very one who is created the water that he walks on. 794s

His eyes are on the very one who is the sovereign and Lord over all of creation. 799s

His eyes are on the one who has promised come, walk on the water. 804s

But, when the eyes move to the circumstance, he sinks. 810s

The reaction moves from one of confidence rooted in the promises of God, it reverts to the reaction of doubt. 823s

Doubt in the sovereignty, doubt in his control, doubt in his omnipotence, doubt in his omniscience, 837s

doubt in the fact that he is creator and Lord of all. 843s

Does God stop being good when you go through bad times? 851s

Of course not. 861s

And yet so often are witness when we go through the bad times, 867s

is that somehow God is no longer on his throne. 874s

One author puts it this way. 879s

When we go through difficult and challenging times, 882s

when our circumstances are not optimal, we can begin to act, catch this phrase. 886s

We can begin to act as functional atheists. 892s

Wow, that's true, isn't it? 898s

And when we look at our circumstances and the difficulties that we face, 904s

when our eyes become on the circumstances, 908s

instead of on God Almighty, we can begin to function as functional atheists and our reaction is if God is nowhere to be found. 911s

What was their reaction? 932s

Who was their reaction in our text? 935s

Look with me, please, at verse 25 of chapter 16. 939s

There, the Scripture says, about midnight, 947s

Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, 951s

and the prisoners were listening to them. 958s

What did they do it? 961s

They are praying and singing hymns to God. 963s

These are the two that had gone through the beading. 971s

Didn't have a trial, were thrown in with a worst of the criminals, 975s

were fastened as a form of torture, 981s

and there they are still being quite fastened by the way. 984s

Rejoicing, it is the rejoice, 992s

reaction, the rejoice reaction. 998s

Paul later writes to the church of Philippi, 1005s

and he writes this, Philippians 4, 1009s

he says, rejoice in the Lord always, again, I will say, rejoice. 1011s

Rejoice, in the Lord always, 1020s

not in your circumstances, rejoice in the Lord always, again, I will say, 1026s

at He says, rejoice, He writes in verse 10, 1031s

the fifth chapter, He says, rejoice always, 1034s

you see, rejoicing is not dependent upon the circumstances that we go through. 1038s

Rejoicing is independent of the circumstances. 1046s

Rejoicing can occur and should occur even amidst the worst of circumstances. 1051s

We don't rejoice in the circumstances. 1060s

We don't say, I'm it's the terrible time of circumstances. 1063s

We don't say, my goodness, I'm really glad that this is happening. 1067s

Of course not, we rejoice what, we rejoice in who, in the Lord, 1071s

His provision, His promises, who He is. 1082s

That's the eyes, not on the circumstance. 1088s

That's the eyes on the one who controls the circumstance. 1091s

And the one who controls the circumstance is God Almighty, 1095s

our rejoicing is not dependent on the circumstance. 1100s

In fact, you can cry over your circumstances and rejoice in the Lord at the same time. 1105s

Ever been there? 1112s

We all have, right? 1114s

With eyes lifted up, we look at the Lord and that causes rejoicing. 1116s

The Lord calls us today to repent, to repent. 1129s

To repent of those times in our lives where we all are functional atheists. 1136s

When we all hear the promises of God but then comes and our eyes are not on the promises of God, 1143s

but they're on the circumstances and we start to act like functional atheists. 1148s

We're called to repent of that this morning. 1152s

And to hear the glorious gospel of Jesus, 1157s

that on the cross, Jesus Christ has taken all of our sin, 1162s

including the times when we treat Him as if we were a functional atheist. 1169s

Including those times when we are so focused on our circumstance that we're an anxiety consumes us. 1178s

Those times when we're so focused on our circumstances that we don't see the Lord calling us to walk on His promises. 1185s

All we see is the wind and we start to sink. 1192s

Those times where we say, well, if you really real God, where are you? 1195s

And why haven't you fixed this? 1199s

All of those times when instead of resting in His grace and His promises, 1200s

we're focused on the circumstance. 1208s

Jesus Christ through His blood has paid all of our sin debt. 1212s

You have been claimed, you are washed, you belong to Him, you are heaven-bound. 1220s

He will not let you go. 1228s

And the very one who holds you holds today, and it holds tomorrow, 1232s

it holds all of our days. 1239s

When you are going through the difficult time, 1248s

and you feel the impulse to rejoice, you know who the author of that is, right? 1252s

That's God's work in your life. 1263s

God says, I want you to rejoice, but He doesn't leave us with the exhortation. 1269s

He empowers the very thing He exhorts through word and sacrament. 1276s

And so when you have that impulse, omits the tear to rejoice, 1286s

know who the author is of that, and that gift He will continue to give. 1296s

Every single day. 1309s

Thank you. 1328s