- What an opportunity!
- Paul & Silas had been doing God's work.
- People were responding to their message of salvation, freedom and deliverance.
- They even set a slave girl free from a demon.
- But when the people of the town didn't like what they were doing, they had them stripped, severely beaten, thrown into prison and had shackles placed on their feet!
- What a perfect opportunity to complain!
- What an opportunity to give up and quit.
- Here they were, doing God's work and making a difference in people's lives and what do they get for it? ... They get thrown into prison.
- They could have seen it as an opportunity to say, "God, where are you?"
- This could have been an opportunity to be mad at God.
- But, what do we find Paul & Silas doing?
- They are praying, singing and worshipping God!
- Really?
- They took a perfect opportunity to Complain and turned it into an opportunity to Praise!
- It was a Choice.
- One simple choice turned a Prison cell into a Praise Place!
- One choice transformed their environment from a hopeless Dungeon to a house of hope.
- It even says that, "the other prisoners were listening to them."
- This choice that Paul and Silas had made was so different than anything they had seen that it grabbed everyones attention!
- And they did it a round midnight.
- Midnight is the end of one day and the beginning of another.
- Their Choice was to close the night with prayer & praise and begin the new day worshipping God.
- Their one choice was saying, we are not going to give the enemy the victory over yesterday, today or any other day!
- We make the choice, right now, how this night will end and how the next day will begin.
- Here's the big question... How are you going to respond to life's pressures today?
- What choice will you make when you are treated unfairly?
- How will you respond when things don't turn out like you had planned?
- Will you complain or will you praise?
- Will you allow the enemy to win or will you let God have the victory?
- Psalm 19:14 says, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”
- What are the words of your mouth?
- What are the things that you are going to speak today?
- It's one choice but it leads to big results!
- Make the choice today to focus on the positive not dwell on the negative.
- Let people hear about the goodness of God not how much damage the devil has done.
- Let your words be filled with Praise!
- Tell everyone about your Lord, your Rock & Redeemer!
- Have a great Monday!