Turn up the volume and ROCK on!

Are You Missing Out? 

If all you consider praise and worship to be is the three or four songs you sing at the beginning of a church service, then you are missing out! It is so much more than that.

Today’s text is from Acts. Paul and Silas had been traveling around the city for several days and there was a slave girl, possessed, used by her masters as a fortune teller following them everywhere. When Paul had enough of her interference, he turned, and spoke to the spirit itself, and cast it out in the name of Jesus. 

 Her owners were not pleased because she would no longer be able to be a profitable slave, so they set on Paul and Silas and beat them and threw them into maximum security. Here is where we pick up the story.

Acts 16: 23 (NCV) Then Paul and Silas were thrown into jail, and the jailer was ordered to guard them carefully. When he heard this order, he put them far inside the jail and pinned their feet down between large blocks of wood. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing songs to God as the other prisoners listened. Suddenly, there was a strong earthquake that shook the foundation of the jail. Then all the doors of the jail broke open, and all the prisoners were freed from their chains.

So, beaten, bruised, and in maximum security (inner jail and in stocks) Paul and Silas began to pray and sing! Songs of praise, thanksgiving and worship (The Message version says ‘robust hymns’) were loudly and sincerely offered to God in the middle of some pretty bad circumstances. 

Now I have never been beaten as bad as these two were, but I have some experience being severely bruised and sore from an automobile accident. If I was forced to sit in one position all night in a jail cell after my body had felt such horrible trauma, I don’t know if this would be my response.

How would you respond? 

These men focused not on themselves, but on God. They understood something: this life is temporary and so are our circumstances. 

I want you to think about this. 

Our lives are eternal, having no end. If you have a relationship with Jesus, that means after this flesh dies, you spend more time in some other state than you will in this body, and you will spend it in the PRESENCE OF GOD! 

When you look at life this way, you can walk in confidence and freedom to obey God more than ever before, to worship Him as you never have before.

Now let’s talk about Volume! 

I am not talking about the size of your hair for all you ladies in Texas, but the intensity of sound in which you worship God. 

You should not be ashamed of God, (Luke 9:26) nor should you be ashamed of giving praise where and when praise is due (Ps 96:9).

Psalms 31 says

“I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed”.

Turn it up! 

Your praise and worship time with God should be so intense it drowns out all else. It should drown out the voice of the enemy and it should drown out our flesh. It should drown out the sound of your boss, spouse, or kids. Make a joyful noise! PS 81:1 “Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.”

Now, what kind of songs?

I am not here to tell you what songs to sing to God. If you enjoy Southern Gospel, Christian rap, or Contemporary like Hillsong United, Hosanna Integrity, and Vineyard, or if you would never sing anything that wasn’t in a hymnal, then that is fine. 

What matters is this: that what you sing should sincerely move you as it GLORIFIES GOD. That is what praise and worship is, glorifying God through music and song, exalting Him above all else.

Rock the house! 

Paul and Silas sang loudly. The other prisoners heard them. They rocked the house! How can I tell that? It rocked the earth and went to the very foundations! This may or may not be a literal translation, but it does have spiritual applications. Real praise and worship ushers in the presence of God. 

Real praise and worship breaks chains, and sets people free. Not only did it break those in literal chains free, it breaks down the walls and barriers that people hold up that keep them from seeking relationship with God in the first place.

Acts 16: 27- 34 “The jailer woke up and saw that the jail doors were open. Thinking that the prisoners had already escaped, he got his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul shouted, “Don’t hurt yourself! We are all here.” The jailer told someone to bring a light. Then he ran inside and, shaking with fear, fell down before Paul and Silas. He brought them outside and said, “Men, what must I do to be saved?” They said to him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved—you and all the people in your house.” So Paul and Silas told the message of the Lord to the jailer and all the people in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took Paul and Silas and washed their wounds. Then he and all his people were baptized immediately. After this the jailer took Paul and Silas home and gave them food. He and his family were very happy because they now believed in God”.

Freedom is contagious! 

Paul and Silas, despite their circumstances, praised and worship God. That ushered in the presence of God, and that sets people free! Worship God today, and every day. Bring His presence into your life and watch Him rock your world to the very foundations!

Be blessed and be a blessing and remember exalt is a verb!

When is your favorite time to worship?