Hallelujah Anyhow!

Acts 16: 16-26

16Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17This girl 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." 18She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled 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.
19When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice."
22The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. 23After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.

Every November, my Young Adult Ministry Pastor, Elder Benjamin Stephens facilitates a life changing visit to Eastlake Juvenile Hall. Many young adults from our ministry answer the call to go behind the four walls of our church to provide Thanksgiving dinner, conversation, worship and prayer to some of the most misguided young people in our communities. All attendees have powerful stories of hope, faith and the enduring human spirit. I can recall listening to story after story of hurt, misguided anger and emptiness from young girls much to young to carry such heavy and worrisome burdens. Elder Ben often recalls an interaction he had with a six-teen year old ex-gang member who is currently serving a double life prison sentence and the powerful sinner’s prayer that he was able to have with this young person. Though the young man that Elder Ben ministered is to spend the remainder of his natural life behind bars, it is our hope that he has maintained the mental and spiritual freedom that only a personal relationship with Christ can provide. Such freedom is truly something to share with others and certainly a blessing to praise God for! Our voices and hearts ring out in praise to God: Hallelujah anyhow!

Praise in the Right Direction!

Today’s passage of scripture is an interesting one, and begins with a description of a woman who is following after the men of God and proclaiming: "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.". Her words seem almost harmless upon initial review, but the word reveals that this young woman was actually demon possessed and was “owned” by individuals as a fortune teller. People were using her demonic “gifts” to tell the future for monetary gain. Her incessant words of perceived praise for Paul and his fellow laborers, was simply a distraction used by satan to deter the people away from the One who is truly worthy of praise. We must be careful to maintain the center of our worship and praise to directly on the Lord. While we have all learned the right words to say, the proper facial expressions and physical affect that personify worship, it is critical that we present praise to God from a sincere heart that longs to connect with the God of the Universe. Don’t settle for a look-like, sound-like sort of praise. Be real with God! Recall that in Matthew 15, the Lord Jesus reprimands the spiritual leaders of Jerusalem: 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 
 8" 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 
 9They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’” Some people find that their ability to praise God is predicated upon a particular row in the sanctuary, song, choir, or a favorite minister. True sons and daughters of God, praise Him not because a world-renowned praise and worship leader is up or because the bass player is on point. We don’t even praise God because our mega-minister of choice is billed to bring an anointed word. We praise God for who He is for His favor toward us. We appropriately seek to connect with the Anointing that flows through the men and women He has chosen to go forth in ministry. Because the woman’s “praise” in our text was misdirected, distracting and persistently under the influence of satan, Paul was compelled to cast the demon from her in the name of the Lord Jesus. Instantly, she was delivered from the chains of demonic oppression and possession and fully able to experience the true liberation of the knowledge and relationship with Jesus Christ. Praise must be pointed in the right direction; away from mortal men and decidedly to the throne of God.

Praise Break!

Know that obedience to God can result in persecution by those around you. After freeing the demon possessed sister free in verse 18, Paul and his brother in ministry Silas, were arrested and delivered to the ruling Roman forces for freeing the income-generating slave girl from the physical and spiritual claws of the evil one. Can you imagine being severely beaten, physically chained and taken to court for praying for the oppressed, healing the sick, and bringing liberty to the captives? What a seemingly thankless job! The Bible describes in verse 24 that they were taken into the “inner cell”. These mighty men of God sat bent and bowed in the dark, foul prison. Roman soldiers were experts of torture and no doubt the clothes that were stripped from them in verse 22 were replaced by oozing wounds and torn flesh. Verse 24 tells us that their feet were placed into stocks that disabled them from walking leaving no natural means of escape. It became very clear to Paul and Silas that there was nothing within their physical power that could bring freedom and deliverance. They remained steadfast in prayer and exuberant in praise (v.25). They knew that they could not dwell on the present situation, but that they were to maintain hope and trust in Jesus. Isaiah 26:33 reminds us that we can have peace in times such as this: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” A mind that is focused on God pushes us toward praise and praise promotes a supernatural move by God! The prayers and praise offered at the darkest hour by Paul and Silas, were acts of faith so sincere and so connected to the Heart of God that the very Earth moved in response to it! The Bible states that the earth shook, all the prison doors were opened and all the chains were broken! Prayer and praise change things!

Make Room for Praise!

If we are honest with ourselves, there exists for many of us something that disallows total freedom in God. Despite our best efforts, there are areas of our innermost existences that have left us sore and bruised? Where is that dark prison that only you and a precious few people know about? For most reading this, our prisons are not physical, but the stocks hold us fast nonetheless. Perhaps your prison room is greed, sexual sin, unforgiveness, pride, or drug and alcohol addiction. Others may be imprisoned in rooms of a negative workplace, metal illnesses or abusive relationships. Some of our prison sentences are our own fault and a direct result of disobedience to God. The prison rooms are plenteous, and we have made very little if any room for praise Regardless of how you arrived upon this painful destination, know that there is delivering power in praise. We have to remember that we have a reason to praise God in spite of our present circumstance. We are not in these debilitating places to stay. We will P.U.S.H! Praise Until Something Happens. Psalm 22:3 reminds us to make room for the living God: “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” Wow! When we make room for praise, we are actually making room for God. It is then that His awesome presence and delivering power is made manifest in our lives.

Dr.’s Orders:
1) Dare to share your praise report! Tell someone today of the delivering power of God in your life. If you read Act 16 on to verse 30 you will find that the jailer who was guarding Paul and Silas, actually received salvation after witnessing the Earth moving power of God. Share your deliverance story and rejoice in the resultant souls that will be freed.

2) Please consider supporting this year’s Eastlake Juvenile Hall Thanksgiving Outreach through the West Angeles Church of God in Christ Young Adult Ministry. Saturday, November 21, 2009. For more information, please email jwilliams@westa.org.