Worship That Delivers

Connect:

Excited to be here to worship. 5 locations but many cities are being represented in our region to worship God.

Read:

Acts 16:25-34

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped.

28 But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Don’t harm yourself, because we’re all here!”

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He escorted them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house. 33 He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized. 34 He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had come to believe in God with his entire household.

Express: The Title of our meditation tonight is Worship that Delivers

Shift/Context: What we are reading here is the amazing story of faith between two men who were passionate about the gospel of Jesus Christ. They got themselves in trouble because Paul cast out a spirit in a woman that made her a fortune teller. And people got mad at them and had the authorities beat them and throw them in the most inner part of the prison, the dampest and darkest part with stocks around their feet and their wounds untreated.

Tell: I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t feel so hopeful if I was just beaten and thrown into prison. But at the beginning of the passage I just read, we see that Paul and Silas begin to worship God even as injured captives.

And their worship changed their circumstances. A mighty earthquake shook the foundation of the jail and all of a sudden, the shackles of all of the prisoners fell off of them.

There’s something important we have to understand here; the greatest thing to happen in this story wasn’t the earthquake, and it wasn’t the shackles falling off the prisoners, or the doors flying open, the greatest part of this story is the fact that two men who were beaten and in chains chose to worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

And God used their worship so that they could be set free, but not set free for themselves, but that another man and his family could be set free from sin.

The Jailer noticed something about these men, which led him to ask the question: “What must I do to be saved?”

APPLY: Listen to me, Your worship has power in it. It’s not just Christian Karaoke, it’s not just lifting hands, it’s a supernatural and spiritual way of telling God how great He is. Worship is power, Worship is outside of the realm of the natural. Worship helps us take our eyes off of our situations so that we can focus on our savior Jesus Christ.

And Worship has the power to bring deliverance to our circumstances and it also leads others to notice something different in us that could lead them to knowing Jesus Christ.

When you allow your life to be a life of worship, you become a beacon of light for others to see Jesus.

As you worship today, I want you to consider that fact. Who in your life needs deliverance and what do you need deliverance from? Miracles? Situations? Brokenness? God’s ears are open, so even if today you feel like you’re trapped, if you feel like there’s no escape from your situation, then you praise like never before. God is worthy of it and He is faithful to respond.

You might have a the question in the back of your mind, what must I do to be set free? What must I do to be healed? What must I do to be saved? The answer will always be the same, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

PRAY