What To Do While You Are In Prison
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
God knows some of you may feel like you are stuck in prison and may fee like you are stuck in a life with no way out today.
I want you to know that God has provided a sway out of your prison this mourning
When the enemy comes at you like a whirl wind and all hope seems to be lost, God will provide a way of escape for you!
I know there were times in my life when I felt there was not other way, no other path that I could take.
As long as I remained faithful to the cause and call of Christ in my life, I would get to where I needed to go in God’s time.
The same goes for all of us!
What discourages us can actually strengthen us if we keep our focus on Christ through it all!
I know some of your stories, how God has brought you through some pretty tough spots in your lives.
Some time we need to go back and remember what God did for us and thank Him for it.
My question today is “What do you do While you are in your prison?”
The prison that I am talking about is one that you have been put in not by your own wrong doing.
Captive-one who has been captured: one taken and heldusually in confinement.
Let’s look at some reasons why you are in prison.
How Did You Get There?
How Did You Get There?
16 On one occasion, as we went to the place of prayer, a servant girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling.
17 She followed Paul and us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”
18 She did this for many days. But becoming greatly troubled, Paul turned to the spirit and said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out at that moment.
19 When her masters saw that the hope of their profits was gone, they seized Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace to the rulers.
20 And they brought them to the magistrates, saying, “These men, being Jews, greatly trouble our city
21 and teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.”
22 The crowd rose up together against them. And the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them.
23 After they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely.
24 Having received such an order, he threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
Paul and Silas were only doing what they knew was right by God.
The servant girl that was possessed was telling the truth, but for some reason, Paul rebuked the spirit in her for following them around.
The problem was in the associtation that the people had with the girl.
She was known for being a fortune teller and would get her fortunes from demonic powers of a god the Romans associated with.
Paul knew this and showed the power of God over their gods by rebuking the spirit within her.
Well, this upset the servant girls master to the point that her master got Paul and Silas and took them to court.
All he was conserned about was that his cash cow had been broken!
He was not concerned about the fact that she had been delivered.
Don’t sit there and think that the deliverance of someone will be celebrated by all who are involved.
Tell examples of prostitiutes in Atlanta, strippers in Panama City and drug addicts.
The good that they did got them put in prison!
NOT the wrong!
The world only cares about themselves no matter the outcome that others may suffer.
Look at what happened back in chapter 3 of Acts.
Peter and John healed the lame man at the gate called beautiful through the power of the Holy Spirit and got called out in the temple square.
They got scolded and told not to do it again.
Nevermind that the man had been healed and his life changed for the good.
The religious leaders only cared about their reputations.
They did not even care that the man had been healed! It was about them only!
The world, the government, your work place, and even your families want to put you in prison so you can’t spread your “Good News” to everyone else.
This may not be a physical prison or restraints that keep you from moving around, but they want yo get you to a place, spiritually, that paralyzes you.
So, what do you do if you find yorself in prison or captivity and your hands are tied?
What Do You Do?
What Do You Do?
I want to give you three things that the Lord gave me from this scripture for your time in prison will benefit from.
Pray
Pray
25 At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
Prayer seems like a not-so-effective way to do anything.
Prayer seems like a cop-out, because you are not doing anything that you can messure with your eyes.
Prayer is a weapon given to us by God to fight with!
Besides, what can you so that will amount to anything that will accomplish success anyway?
Pau and Silas sis not argue, draw swords, or even fight back.
They counted it an honor to be persecuted for the cause of Christ!
Which on of you could say that in the situation that you are in right now?
After all that the enemy has put on you or has tried to do to you, can you truly say: “Thank you Lord that my life has suffered for standing up for you.”
Some of you are saying, “Yes, I can say that.”
Have you really suffered for the cause of Christ like this?
Some of you have felt the Holy Spirit come into the room and put His hand on your shoulder to let you know that He is there for you.
Release your faith right now in your prayers to God for your situation that you are in and give Him glory for who He is and what He is capable of!
Once you can get to a place that you can pray attitudfe while in prison, next you can praise!
Praise
Praise
25 At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
I did not say Worship: an expression of adoration and reverence.
I said Praise: an expression of approval and admiration.
We love to do a lot of Praise and Worship around PCAG!
I do love it!
It says in the KJV that they “...sang hymns of praise.”
Imagine having just been striped in the square of the town and beaten, ridiculed, and thrown in the inner prison and then shackled on top of that.
Could you praise God at this point?
Most of us would be complaining, telling everyone who would listen, how wrong we were done and how right we are and how this shouldn’t have happened …I’m going to sue!!!
1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights.
2 Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His heavenly hosts.
3 Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you stars of light.
4 Praise Him, you highest of heavens, and you waters that are above the skies.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded, and they were created.
6 He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree that shall not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures, and all you depths,
8 fire and hail, snow and mist, storming wind fulfilling His word,
9 mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and all cedars;
10 animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds;
11 kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth;
12 both young men and maidens, old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is excellent; His glory is above the earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a victory horn for His people, praise for all His saints, even for the people of Israel near Him. Praise the Lord!
We praise God at all times and at all cost under ant circumstance!
What happens to us should never change our praise!
Praise is another weapon that we have been given to defeat the enemy!
Praise grows our faith and our connection with God through the Holy Spirit.
Praise is like the right hand that comes out of nowhere in the fight with the enemy.
He expects that you should be discouraged and upset at the circumstances around you, but when you bring out the praise, the devil gets a little knock in his knees and he voice begins to tremble at the declaration of who God is in your life.
If we don’t praise Him, scripture says that the rocks will cry out in our place!
Ain’t no rock gonna take my place or my praise!
Where should your praise come from?
Our praise comes from deep rooted relationship that we have with Christ that assures us of who He is and what He has done for us and what He can do!
Our praise is rooted in knowing who Christ is!
He is the all-powerful Sond of God who sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for us continuously!
He is the one who died for us on a cruel cross to pay for our sins!
He is the one coming again to defeat the enemy once and for all and take us, His children, home to be with Him for eternity!
No prison can contain the praise of a follower fo Christ!
The praise will go forth and get the attention of God to set you free!
Your praise will go forth and reach the ears of those that need to be encouraged by your faith in a Jesus that loves them!
Share
Share
Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s shackles were loosened. When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”
He called for lights and rushed in, trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas. He then led them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
The jailer had been hearing the prayers and praise from Paul and Silas.
I believe that the Holy Spirit was preparing His heart for what was about to happen to him.
Paul saw where the jailer was about to end his life because of what God had done for them.
Paul shouted and stopped him from killing himself so that he could share with him Christ.
Think about this: Paul and Silas could have ran out and escaped the prison and freed themselves without even looking back to concern themselves with the jailer.
After all, isn’t he the enemy?
How many times have you received freedom and just ran and kept running with no concern of those around you?
Unless God gets the glory through you sharing what He has done for you, then you may as well be just like one of the 10 that were healed of leprosy and did not return to glorify Jesus.
THis may be the very road block that keeps you from receiving further release from God!
We are supposed to give God ALL the glory for what He does in our life!
When we pray for God’s direction and praise Him through it all, Heexpects us to share the victories over the enmy through the Holy Spirit being active in our lives.
They took the time to minister to the jailer, but not only the jailer, even to his family.
They kept the cause of the gospel in mind even through their own problems!
God cares about what’s in thier heart not what’s in thier garage!
What I menas by that is that God is more concern with adding souls to the kingsdom rather than freeing them from a situation!
This is not our home!
We are just passing through!
The quicker we understand this, the more focused on His purpose we will be!
Alter
Alter
Our prayers will change from give me what I want to give me an opportunity to win souls for God.
God use us and do what you have to do to prepare us for what you want to use us for!
Are you stuck in a prison of circumstance that you have started to drown in the dispare?
Have you received a victory that you have not given God proper glory for?
Do you need Jesus?
