If you would grasp this message this morning and let it stick in your heart, you will leave here changed in your heart and your life will be different.  I love this portion of scripture and I was thinking about how much I really do love Paul and Silas.  Have you ever noticed that the more you grow in the Lord, the more you feel like these people aren't just Bible characters but they're family?  As I read this I feel like I'm talking about family this morning, Acts 16 :23-26, "And when they had

laid many stripes on them they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.  Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.  But at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hyms to God and the prisoners were listening to them.  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 chains were loosed".

Father, this morning we thank you that you are here.  Lord, we thank you for the praise and the worship that has been offered up in this place.  As this word is brought, I pray Lord, that we would decrease and you would increase and that we would not leave this place the same.  In Jesus name, amen.

Even as we were saying the prayer this morning, I'm glad I've lived long enough now to have watched God be faithful time and time again.  When I look at Paul and Silas, I don't just see men that I've read about in the Bible.  I'm seeing people here that are really just like you and me; we're family.  Have you ever realized how much a difference the effect of just a little bit

of praise makes in someone's life?  I wonder if you've learned that secret yet on your child, your spouse, your co-worker, someone that you just go up to and say, "You look good today" and mean it.  I look at this lady that works at Publix behind the counter and she is a joy.  How many have seen people working at Publix with a sour look on their face?  Never this lady, she has everyone behind the

counter on their toes and with a smile on their face.  I appreciate that.  When you can look at people and just tell them what a great job they're doing and how much you care about them, it makes a difference in their life.  It makes an absolute change.

Here you have Paul and Silas, sitting in jail, having been whipped.  When you read this you just think they were beaten but if you look further into the story you see that Paul and Silas were actually whipped with whips and then they were thrown into jail.  They weren't cleaned up.  The jailer was told to keep an eye on them and he took them into solitary confinement deep within the prison, and if

that wasn't going to hold them in, he decided to put them in chains and fetters that were chained to the wall and then leave them sitting in that place.  The true thing that we need to realize as the people of God, is that true worship brings the power of God into any situation.  That's why worship of the Lord has such a priority in church life and that's why it should have such a priority in our lives.

Worship is both something that we do and something that we live.  It is giving God glory for who he is, declaring God's faithfulness and His word.  It's praising Him for who he is and what he does, what he has done and what he's going to do.  I wonder if there's anyone here this morning that has had God do something pretty awesome for them?  God has been so good to us and what a wonderful savior that we have. When we begin to lift up his name we release the power of God in our life to do great things.  As you read this story you see God's power come demonstrated in an incredible way.  That kind of power is demonstrated in our life and is there to release His power at any moment we begin to lift up the name of Jesus.  Worship is never about a performance;  It's not about our performance and it's not about God's performance.

There are three ways we need to understand that worship isn't a performance.  Number one: worship in church is never about a performance. Somehow in the last couple of years because of the technoogy and the great increase of the musical ability within the body of Christ and the wonderful giftings in our churches, we begin to think that worship is all about the people that are on the platform. I believe that too many of us have an earthly view and not a heavenly view of what worship really is.  It's interesting, when we come into the church, most people see people on a platform with instruments and microphones and then they see us in the church.  But when God

looks down from heaven he sees one body.  He doesn't see a group of musicians and then a bunch of people, he sees the entire body of Christ gathered together in His name to love and to worship Him, to seek His face, to declare His goodness, shout His promises and to just love Him.

Worship is not about our individual performance, like the sound or the quality of our voice because worship isn't about a song, it's about what's going on in our heart towards God.  It's about us being engaged to love Him, not just agreeing with words or something on a radio.  Worship is that expression of our contentment, our joy and our confidence in God.  Worship is also not about God's performance.  It's not that God must perform or do in order for us to worship.  As a matter of fact, our worship of God releases His power towards us.  Before God does, we should be worshipping who he is.  It doesn't matter if God doesn't do another thing for me in all my life.  He has already set me free from my sin and I have watched Him time and time again be faithful.  How many have

that same testimony?  He is worthy of our praise, not because of what he's done but just because of who He is.  When we get that in our heart it begins to change the way we approach Him.  I believe that God and people are sick of the performance mentality that has swept this world today.  As a matter of fact I believe it is one of the greatest tragedies that has ever swept the body of Christ.

I believe that when worship was instituted God told them to get the trained musicians, get those who can sing and those who can worship. When we come together here it should be people who have a giftedness to do it.  How many of you have ever gone through the torture of an American idol contest in church?  If you've ever been sitting there and saying, "Jesus, I love that person but please make him

stop singing'.  Although that's how we feel and how we should bring our best into a public setting, the truth is that's just a small portion of what worship really is.

Paul and Silas are in jail, beaten and in the inner prison and they begin to worship and the whole place was shaken and the chains were loosed. I believe that the reason why Satan brings confusion and apathy, and even controversy to our worship services is because when that happens the focus is off  God and goes on everything else.  But when our focus is on God, whether we are at home or in the car, in the church service or wherever we are, when the focus is on Jesus and when we begin to worship, the place can be shaken and chains can be loosed; what it begins to do in the life of people when they hear the believers in the Lord declare his glory and faithfulness

even in the midst of their hard situations.

The worship of God releases the power, the pathway and the purpose of God in this church.  When Solomon dedicated the temple, the people gathered to worship and the glory came and filled the place and no one could stand.  On the day of Pentecost the people gathered in one place and they worshipped, and the place was shaken and the church was born on that day.  When Israel

gathered around Jericho after they had crossed into the promised land, they faced the greatest army and enemy that anyone had ever faced in their time, one of the most fortified cities.  Even today there is that recognition of how well fortified that city was.  The people of God marched around

that wall that was in front of them and began to worship and the power of God came down.  When they shouted, the walls didn't just fall backward or towards them, they were just leveled right to the ground.  As a matter of fact, when they went to excavate Jericho, they didn't

find stones that had fallen backwards or forwards, they literally found stones that had just been pulverized.  How many know that's the power of God?

Incredible things happen when we begin to worship.  The church is not a building, it's his people, and when we worship the power flows wherever we are and whatever we're going through.  Where worship is released, God's presence will abide. I don't care what situation you are in, our hearts are the battleground from which the battles are decided.  When we worship, we establish God's rulership in our life and in the place where we are.  It may be the hardest place you've ever been but

If you'll begin to worship the Lord, you don't even have to be loud about it, you will begin to bring

the presence of God to that place.  Things have to change; people around you will start to get nicer and things will start to get different. People will feel bad about acting poorly in your presence because the presence of God is in that place.  If you're in a hospital and someone is so discouraged, all you need to do is begin to praise the Lord whether it's through song or through speaking his praise.  It's not all about a song, it's about the confession of the mouth, declaring who he is

and what he's done.

Psalms 22:3 says, "But you are holy, you inhabit the praises of Israel".  Israel is God's people and God inhabits the praises of his people.  Matthew 18:20 says, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am in the midst of them".  Worship is the key to coming into God's presence.  Look what it did for Paul and Silas.  I'm in awe of these men; they're our brothers in Christ.  Do you know why they were in jail?  Because through their witnessing the gospel of Jesus Christ

to that town, a slave girl who was demon possessed was behind them declaring that these were the men of God.  She was testifying that they were servants of God.  Finally Paul got tired of this girl who was used to giving divination; people used to come to her all the time and ask for advice and tell them the future like a palm reader.  Paul got tired of it and turned around and said, "In the name of Jesus, come out of that girl now" and she was set free.  Those merchants were so mad because that girl,

bound up by demons, couldn't do what they were holding her captive for anymore.  They were so mad at Paul and Silas that they began to stir up against them, then the town got a hold of them and beat them and threw them in jail for no reason. Then they began to worship the Lord.  God responds when we worship and it should not surprise us that healing and the gifts of the spirit

usually follow the worship part of the service.  When we begin to give glory to God, his presence is there and how many know you strike when the iron is hot?

Worship deals quickly with our pride.  You can't truly worship God and be all about yourself because worship is all about him. No matter our problems, our wants or our needs, or even our anger, worship calms fear and frustration whatever situation we are in.  When we humble ourself before God, he will lift us up.  Those who love the Lord begin to worship.  How many have ever found out that when you are in the most difficult situations, that's when pride seems to rise up the most?  But when you begin to declare who God is, when you begin to love Him and declare his faithfulness, whether it's in word or in song, it doesn't matter, and all of a sudden that pride is squashed and God begins to lift us up. Ist Peter 5:6 says, "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time". When we get our bad attitude and our mad, sorrowful self to worship, not only do we change but God does a work. You can't truly worship God and have a bad attitude.  There have been times that I've had the worst attitude of all

my life and God says, "You need to change it" and I say, "How do I do it?"  He says, "Begin to worship me". How many know that you can't worship God and still be down with your bad self?  When you have a bad attitude and you begin to worship God, he will lift you out of it.  He begins to put you on solid ground.

Worship of God is a lifestyle.  I found that many people leave their praise and worship of God at church. They limit it to a song.  I love getting with people who love to praise God.  Psalms 34:1 says, "I will bless the Lord at all times.  His praise shall continually be in my mouth".  How many know if praise is continually in your mouth, it leaves very little room for anything else?  Paul and Silas' worship of God was not dependent on their circumstances,

it didn't matter what they were going through.  The same men that worshipped God when they were seeing people Come to Christ; the same men that worshipped God when that demonized girl was set free, were the same men that were worshipping God after they had been beaten and put in solitary confinement and chained to a wall.  Nothing could hold back their praise because nothing was going to hold back their God.  God was still God no matter where they

were or what situation they were in.

Many choose to bless or not to bless, or even curse God based on what is going on.  Regardless of what is going on he is still God at all times.  "I will bless the Lord at all times.  His praise shall continually be in my mouth".  Praise is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to God.  It is acknowledging who he is and what He has done.  What kind of lips do you have this morning?  Are they salty or fruity?  You should have fruity lips and not salty lips.  There's a lot of salty Christians who just let a lot of stuff come out of their mouth. The Bible says, "Worship God with the fruit of our lips.  Give him thanks".  The reason why Paul and Silas could praise Him in prison was because that was a natural part of their life.  Because it was a normal part of their life everywhere else, it was going to be a normal part of their life when they were in chains in prison. 

So many people think that if I get into that situation then I'll rise to the occasion.  You don't have to wait to rise to the occasion; have that part of your life all the time and then when you get into the situation it will continue to be a part of your life.  But the fact is, if praise and worship is not a part of your life now, it's not going to be a part of your life then.  I've been with Christians when they've been cut off in traffic and then you know who has praise and worship as a part of their life.  You can tell if

they have salty lips or fruity lips.  Don't apologize to me, I'm just a man.  God is listening, he's the one you should be worried about.  Some will be cut off in traffic and they'll say, "Bless God" because they didn't get hit and they were serious about it, not just being spiritual and trying not to cuss.

Worship repels the presence of the enemy.  When all hell breaks loose, worship, because Satan

wants nothing to do with God.  Every time that God shows up, Satan gets embarrassed and defeated.  If you've got the enemy in your life and all hell is breaking loose, worship the Lord because it will drive the enemy right out of the way.  How many know we need to learn to do that more?  Begin to lift up the name of Jesus.  Praise releases the presence of God and our worship repels the presence of the enemy.  Psalms 50:23 says," Whoever offers praise glorifies me and to him who orders his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God".  Quit singing the praises of the devil and start singing the praises of God.  We need to get our conversation right.  Our words need to be correct instead of talking about what the devil is doing in your life because the devil is just sitting back saying, "They're singing my praises".  But when you begin to praise the Lord, "Thank you Lord that I am in your hands, that I am your workmanship and that I walk in your favor". 

Are you tired of the devil winning?  Worship the God of your salvation and the God of your victory, not the God of this world who seeks to kill, steal and destroy.  Begin to worship the God who has already done for you and will continue to do for you.  Anyone can worship after the battle or after the victory.  There are times that we have to learn and grow but I believe that God's people need to learn to worship when the testing happens.  Just like Paul and Silas, notice they were worshipping while they were in jail, even though they weren't necessarily singing praises as the whip was coming on their back.  Stephen, as he was being stoned, didn't keep looking as the stones were coming at him, he just looked right into heaven and began to see heaven open.

The Bible talks about the Israelites leaving Egypt;  the miracles that God did and the things that went on so that the Israelites could be free, even at the very end where all the first born of the Egyptians passed away but none of the Israelites.  Pharoah told them that they could leave and God made a way into the desert and then they wound up against the Red Sea.  They had praised God that they were set free and that they were ok and the Bible tells us how God had opened the Red Sea and they crossed over onto dry ground.  When they got to the other side they began to worship God.  As a matter of fact, Moses began to sing a song and the people followed right along with him.  When

the Israelites found themselves up against the Red Sea they sang a different song than when they left Egypt.  They found themselves doubting God and cursing God.  They were so upset they wanted to stone Moses. 

Too many Christians have a testimony after the fact of what God did but they have no testimony of trust in God while they were going through it.  Songs of victory after the fact are songs of relief and thanksgiving and that is good but they are not songs of faith.  Worship, whether sung or spoken in the midst of the battle is true faith and I believe that is what God is raising up among his people.  We are to be a people who worship God whether on the other side of the Red Sea or whether our back is against the Red Sea.  Either way we're going to go through and we're going to be ok.  That should be the people of God.

We should have that testimony.  Paul and Silas had that testimony while they were in jail, they worshipped God. God promises to be a shield round about us.  Do you believe that?  God promises that he not only has our back but he has us covered.  The Bible says that he goes before us, behind us, above us and beneath us.  Many times when people read the Bible they talk about the shield that God gives them, like a Roman soldiers shield out in front of them. God gave me a vision of that one day while I was watching Star Trek.  Remember that force field they had?  They were in a bubble protected on all sides and God said, "That is what I am to you".  If you don't see anything coming,

I still got your back and when you can't see what's ahead of you, I'm still going before you.  If you don't know whats going on underneath you, the steps of a righteous man are ordered of God and I've got you protected. If you don't know whats going to come from above you, I'm still right there and I see whats coming.

Psalms 5:12 says, "For you, O Lord, will bless the righteous with favor.  You will surround him as with a shield". Psalm 18:30 says, "As for God, his way is perfect.  The word of the Lord is proven and he is a shield to all who trust in Him".  Psalms 28:7 says, "The Lord is my strength and my shield.  My heart trusts in Him and I am helped, therefore my heart greatly rejoices and with my song I will praise Him".

If we would only remember what God has done for us.  If we would look past our weaknesses, past the impossibilities and the doubts, and would declare his strength and his triumph, and who he is, we would release his power.  God taught Israel to shout at Jericho.  The generation who had been at the Red Sea complained, mumbled and griped, and they died in the wilderness.  The next generation found themselves up against Jericho and they did it different.  They began to praise before the walls came down, and when they did, they saw the walls come down and entered into God's promise.  God is tender and caring and we can pour out our hurt  and complaint to God and then we begin to choose to praise him and declare that we can't handle it but God can.  He not only gives us victory but brings us emotional stability to our life.  How many understand that God wants you to be emotionally stable?  You can take anything to the Lord.  David said, "I poured out my complaint".  That same man who poured out his complaint was also the same man who wrote most of the Psalms, his praise of God's faithfulness.  His complaining turned to praising because he realized he needed to get his speech right with God.

Our worship is a powerful witness and testimony to others that are around us.  In Acts 16:25, it says, "But at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the prisoners were listening to them".  I don't know how many of you have ever been inside of a jail before but the prisoners aren't real happy if you're singing the praises of the Lord at midnight.  This is how you know that the power of God was in that place.  The prisoners and the guards

were listening.  They had been whipped, their sores were still open, they are chained against the wall so they can't reach back and massage the hurts that they have, then at midnight they begin to praise the Lord.  The Bible says as the prisoners listened, all of a sudden that place was shaken and it was so powerful the chains broke, the doors opened and the prisoners stayed put.  That's how you know revival just came somewhere.  Most of the people in jail did something to get in there.  It's not like they were obedient people willing to do whatever you say. I know that God loves and cares for them and we need to witness to them but facts are facts.  Here's Paul and Silas, the chains broke loose and every door opened and every prisoner stayed in place.

Acts 16:27-28 says, "And the keeper of the prison awakened from sleep and seeing the prison door opened, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.  But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm for we are all here".  Those guards could see that God had done something unique in that place.  Not only did those prisoners get saved but the guards got saved.  People are looking for a testimony that speaks peace in the darkness around them.  People are looking to the Church to be different.  How many know the God that we serve should make a  profound difference in us and through us?  For far too long this church has bought into the same mindset as our culture.  How many know we are people and we need comforting, and that's ok but I'm so glad that I've lived long enough now that I've gone through those times where I've needed the comfort and the help of others and now I can stand with people that I've seen had that help and gone through those things, and when the tragedy of life comes, they can say

"It is well with my soul", and they worship God.  Their confession is way different than the world and it gets the attention of the people around them.

The truth is, God has been faithful to every single one of us.  No matter what we go through or what we suffer from, whatever is in our present, past or future, God is still God and he is still good, he is the same yesterday, today and forever.  People are looking for a testimony.  Isaiah 26:3 says, "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you".  Here are Paul and Silas in jail; there eyes weren't on their chains, their eyes were on Jesus; pretty soon God broke the chains loose, the prison door began to open, and the very man that threw them into the inner cell took them to his house and began to wash their stripes.  Their enemy began to take care of them and that day he and his household gave their life to Jesus.

True worship, powerful worship is done by those who keep their mind on God, not themselves or

their situation.  Our worship of God releases hope for those with no hope.  It brings joy and calm, letting the unsaved know that there is more for them. Everybody in this world is looking around today, even those who have become successful and they want to know if this is all there is.  You know what? No, there is way more than that in Jesus.  Let us be a people who worship from the true heart of Christ in faith.  Let us be a people who releases power in our lives and in our services.  Let us be a people that keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, no matter what we're going through or what's going on.  Let that worship rise in your heart, and if you do, it will release his power in ways you never dreamed possible.

Why is God doing things here at Harvest?  Because we've begun to take our mind off of ourselves and

put it back on Jesus.  Why will God do things in your life?  Because you worship Him, not just in

a song but with your life.  Amen