When You’re Shut In

Before I joined my current church, I was a member of Bedside Baptist for about six months.  If you’ve never heard of Bedside Baptist, I can give you a brief introduction to this grand church.  That simply means that I stayed in bed on Sunday mornings instead of going to church.  I would watch a sermon online or sometimes just watch the back of my eyelids as I slid further into sleep.  I’m not proud of that time.  But it gave me great practice for the current season that we’re in.

This past Sunday’s church service was held at Bedside Baptist in my home.  I sang along with the praise and worship team at the top of my lungs.  I’m quite sure that my cat, Fitz, was disturbed by my praise because he politely wandered off into the living room for some peace and quiet.  Don’t worry.  He was back in time for the sermon.  And what a sermon recap I have for you today.

Sunday’s sermon came from Acts 16:22-32.  Paul and Silas have been beaten and imprisoned for driving out the spirit of divination in a girl.  Her masters are outraged because the girl was a great source of income.  They want justice.  So, Paul and Silas are made to pay for their crime.

Each time I hear this story, I’m challenged to consider what it costs to follow Christ.  Paul and Silas were on assignment from God.  They were doing what they were called to do and yet still found themselves beaten and in chains.  Their response was not whining or complaining.  They responded praying and praising God.

It’s interesting to note that they didn’t wait until midnight came to begin their prayer and praise service.  When midnight, the darkest hour, arrived, they were in the midst of their prayer and praise.  They turned a prison cell into a sanctuary, a place of refuge and safety.

What a testimony to those who were imprisoned all around them!  Their response to a trying time was to talk to and praise the God who held their life in His hands.  The Bible states that the prisoners were listening to them.  They were witnessing what a life surrendered to God sounded like.  And their listening turned to a physical and tangible experience with God’s power.  There was an earthquake that shook the prison.  Immediately all of the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were loosed.  They were free!

Paul and Silas were shut in by society’s standards.  They were imprisoned for following God’s calling on their life.  Yet in their minds, they were completely free.  So free, that their natural reaction was to praise and worship the one true God.  Their freedom and free relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ had the power to set people who weren’t even in the prison free.

My pastor challenged us to be mindful of our responses when we are shut in.  A lost and dying world is watching to see how the body of Christ responds when it seems like all hope is lost.  This is a time to see the power of God fall like never before.  Your prayer, praise, and worship of the Most High God literally has the power to set the captives free.  Don’t let this situation keep your praise shut in.  #wepreach