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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: THE WAY OUT

We often find ourselves in the middle of trial. These things happen for many reasons. It doesn’t matter how bad the trial, we can worship our way out. The word says that God inhabits the praise of his people.  Praise and worship gets his attention.

We do not worship in an action only, as if to butter up God for a favor. He is not one to be manipulated. But if we can learn to praise him, from a sincere place in our hearts, he will come to our prisons of trouble, he will shake the jail and set us free.

I said it that way, because that is what happened to Paul and Silas. They had been taken prisoner for preaching the gospel. Other believers gathered to pray on their behalf.

Acts 16:22-24 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. 23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: 24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

Paul and Silas went about doing good. They had cast a devil out of a woman who was being forced to basically be a fortune teller. But once that spirit was cast out of her, she could no longer make money for her masters.  They stirred up the people against them and they were thrown into jail.

What would we do in their position? Would we complain about how much our backs hurt from our beating?  Would we have a pity party and sit in the dark jail until someone bailed us out?

Acts 16:25-26 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.

Notice God shook the foundations of the prison, then the doors were open. The doors of all of them were opened.  Then he loosed their bands. It took a shaking of the foundation to set them free. Sometimes we build our lives on things that are not the right foundation and God has got to shake the foundation to set us free from our prison.

For example: I keep feeling like God is calling for unity in the body of Christ. God is shaking the foundation of our religion so that we can be set free to just be His body. This is something everyone of us needs to be praying, “Lord remove religion and help me to see you in a deeper way. I want to walk in your ways and not be bound by man’s traditions and man’s religion.”

 Acts 16:27-30 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

People are watching our lives. They see us in our storms and wonder how we are even breathing at times. When a tragedy hits us and we are stuck in the prison of our pain, sickness or grief for a season. But if we can keep praising God in the middle of our pain and our prison, God will set us free and use that to help others find Him.

When this jailor realized that he would not be executed for letting the prisoners escape he came and fell down before them and asked them to introduce him to Jesus.

We never know how strong we can be until we are faced with the trials of life. But if we face them with prayer and praise. God can use our dark times to set free those around us who are bound. We will be able to be a witness for the cause of Christ if we can just learn to worship and war with prayer and praise.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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