God Leads Revival | Eld Terence Atkinson

You're listening to a message to go from Acts Church.

We hope this message will light up your day.

Today's message is entitled, God Leads Revival. God Leads Revival.

You will note that this is a message on revival,

but I think you will gain some lovely truths about

who and what God is all about. So we're going

to be taking this scripture from Acts chapter 16 and

Acts 16 · chapter mention

we're going to be reading from verse 16 onwards. All right.

So this is the story of Paul and Silas. All right.

Reading from verse 16. Now it happened as we went

to prayer that a certain slave girl possessed with the

spirit of divination met us. who brought her masters much

profit by fortune-telling. So this girl followed Paul and us,

cried out, saying, These men are the servants of the

Most High God who proclaim to us the way of salvation. Now,

number one, I need to say this, right, because I

don't want you thinking that demons know the future. So

I want to kill that straight away. All right. They

do not know the future. And how it works is

that obviously, if they are run by the evil one

and the evil one is running their lives, behind the scenes,

the evil one has discussed his plans with the demons.

So when the demons actually say something, they're not telling

in the future. They know what's happening in the background.

It's like this. I, you know, Okay, just use him

for an example. I tell Joel, Joel, you hide behind

that wall, and the next person that walks out, you

throw a bucket of water on him. Right? So this

is a private plan, right? Then I say, oh, I'm

getting a word. I'm getting a word. Jessica, when you

walk out that door, something new is going to happen.

But she doesn't know I already worked it out with him.

So she walks out the door and he throws water

in her. Wow, I can tell the future. You get it?

It's all a lie. There's only one who is able

to tell you what's going to happen in your life,

and that is God. So let's get that out of

the way, all right? So let's explain to you. So now,

this girl followed Paul and us. Paul was in the

company of Silas and some others. And this demon-possessed girl,

was she saying something wrong or something right? Never thought

of it, huh? She was actually saying something right. She

was telling the truth. These men are the servants of

the Most High God who proclaim the way of salvation. Now,

if she said it in a tone like this, I

think Paul and Silas would have liked it. They would

have said, these men. are the servants of the Most

High God who proclaim to us the way of salvation. Now,

if you had this kind of person following, you like it, right? Right?

How many of you heard a demon-possessed person speak? Anyone here?

I have. Many times. Because I was involved in praying here.

In fact, while I was a student, you know, while

I was a student, I stayed in a church hostel.

So after school, every night I'd go and I'd pray

together with the pastor for people who were possessed. And

when they speak, this is how it might have sounded.

And you tell me whether Paul would get irritated or not.

These men are the servants of the most high God. whoo-hoo,

playing the way of salvation. Now, if you had a

character like that following you everywhere you go, won't you

get irritated? You see, the enemy is not interested in

making you feel good. The enemy just wants to irritate you.

And even if he's telling you the truth, he will

still irritate you. Why not? So this went on, okay?

So this is, I just give you an example, you know,

that's not the message. And this she did for many days.

You know, Paul is quite an amazing guy. I would

have knocked her on the head probably the first time.

But Paul was very patient. It says here that she

did this for many days. That irritating voice in the

ear for many days. But now, Paul is greatly annoyed.

So he turned to the spirit. He didn't turn to

the girl. He turned to the spirit. I command you

in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.

And he came out that very hour. So sometimes, does

it take for us to get irritated before we act?

Do we have to wait until we are annoyed to act?

I mean, okay, I'm not Paul. I do not know

why Paul waited many days. You know, he could have

waited one or two days because the power of God

working in his life was still fully working in him

the first time this possessed girl said something in compared

to after so many days. But when her master saw

that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul

and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.

The marketplace. We all love to go into the marketplace, right?

You know that's the buzzword for today, the marketplace. We

are in the marketplace. I'm not too fond of that word,

to be honest. I'm not too fond of that word

because we ought to be believers always. We ought to

be Christians always. Whether we're in church, whether we're in

the doctor's, whether we are in the marketplace. But I

have heard people say, I'm a marketplace Christian. I cannot

stand that word used that way. Because there is no

such thing. You are only a believer. You're a believer

to carry the word of Christ everywhere you go. So

you see that Paul and Silas were actually in that

vicinity and in that area. What were they trying to do?

They were trying to evangelize. They were trying to spread

the gospel. Hey, we all want revival to take place. Right?

So we go out and we're sharing the word of God. Hey,

you know Jesus? Do you know who Jesus is? And

we speak and we speak and we speak and we

tell and we tell and we tell. But you will

find out that God has his own plans. You will

find out God is the master of everything. So now,

not everyone is happy with what you do. Do you

know that building is good? Sometimes you do the right thing.

Do you know that whatever profits God causes losses to

the enemy? Do you know that that person that you

brought to Jesus means 10 or 20 people and that

person's influence are going to come to the Lord. So

when you bring profit to God, you bring loss to

the devil. And he is not happy. He is not

pleased with that. And you want to know something? You

want to know whether somebody is led by the Spirit

of the Lord or led by the enemy? It's very simple.

Look at them react when you do good. When you

do good, if they're not happy, then I know who

they are following. I know who is leading them. Because

you see, the world is usually unhappy when you do

something good. It's not what I say. It's there in Scripture, okay?

It's there in Scripture. So if I've got to trust

what people say or trust what Scripture says, I'll throw

in with Scripture every time. Okay? Let's move on. So now,

the world is not satisfied with being upset with you.

So what did they do? Alright? We're going on to the, okay,

there we are. And they brought them to the magistrates

and they said, these men being Jews exceedingly trouble our city.

They're not even our kind. They don't even belong to us.

How often we hear that in our own country. These

men being Jews exceedingly trouble our city and they teach

customs which are not lawful for us. What rubbish. Can

I say that? What absolute nonsense. What did Paul and

Silas do that was unlawful? I mean that woman was

driving them crazy. He gave them so many opportunities to

take her away, you know. Do you know that? It

was not his intention to ruin their economy. He gave

them so many, please take her away. I don't need

to tell you. I'm keeping quiet. Take them away. You

want to see my power? Finally, get out. See? And

they teach us things. Being Romans, to receive or observe,

always remember, against the truth, the enemy only has lies.

If you and I are living a truthful life in

the place that we work, In the things that we do,

you know what the enemy has? It only has lies.

You better learn this now. How many of you are

just starting out in your careers? Okay, how many of

you have just started working five years? Put up your hands. Okay,

that's about five, six, seven, about ten of you. How

many of you have been working for ten years? How

many of you have been working more than ten years? Okay,

more than ten years. The reason I say this is

because I was in commercial work before I became, you know,

before I started working full-time, 41 years. And in 41 years,

I learned one lesson. The world hates you. It has

no desire to see you succeed. The world has no

desire to see you prosper over them. And when you

do something good, have you heard the story about the

crab in the basket? Why they put the live crabs

in a basket that's only six inches and the crabs

never escape? Because as one crab is about to get out,

the others pull them in. That's what they want to

do to you. See, and this is what was basically

happening here. So don't be surprised that many people rise

up against you or that you seem alone. Hey, if

you seem alone, If you see people rising up against you,

stop and think. Paul did something right and they came

up against him. So when you suddenly see people coming

up against you, stop and ask the Lord. Lord, I

know you might always ask the negative question, what am

I doing wrong? No, no, no. Now you ask yourself

the question, Lord, what am I doing right? The multitude

has a long history of always picking the wrong side.

Do you realize that? Never ever go with the multitude,

you know. You have to ask the Lord and the

Lord has got to lead you because the crowd is

always wrong. Have you realized that? Look throughout history. When

they were hanging people as witches, they were not witches.

This is in Salem. It was always the crowd, right? Wrong.

They were always wrong. No need to go so far.

Look at those jokers that did it to Jesus. Father,

forgive them, for they know not what they do. Though

they nail me to a splinter cross of wood, I

did it because I love them. I did it because

I love them. From now on, they will call this

Friday good. You know, it's like this. That same crowd,

they were saying, hey, Jesus coming in, waving palm. Hey,

those palm branches that you see, these were held by

the jokers that say crucify him. The crowd. The crowd

always tend to get it wrong. This is actually all

just sort of introduction. Now, Then, why on earth does

the multitude have to rise up? The multitude rose up

together against them and the magistrate, this is really another

movie here. Okay, before I get to that, what had

the multitude got to do with that demon-possessed girl? Absolutely nothing.

So why did they get so riled up? Whenever you

see a crowd riled up, be careful. There's a spirit operating.

Remember this case where the dog, you know the case

of the dog? I believe that was a same scenario

because things tend to escalate. One thing leads to another,

you know why? Because there are forces behind it, pushing them.

Then the multitude rose up together against him. And guess what?

The magistrates tore their clothes. Drama, Indian movie. Camera movie. Camera. Why?

In good clothes, why you want to tear? What has

those people got to do with you? You pay $ 100

for your batik, somebody come in and say, you tear

your shirt. If you got nice body that looks like

Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was muscular, I understand. Most of

us got only one muscle. Why? It doesn't make sense.

And this is it. Commanded them to be beaten with rods.

Who is the them? Paul and Silas. All because They

did something good. So you ask yourself, why am I

always beaten? Why am I always beaten down? Why am

I always attacked? Have you ever asked yourself that question?

Have you all had that kind of experience where you'll

always feel like you're being physically thrashed? Do you all

feel that way? Why is that? So these Those in

authority are even worse. Always a lot of drama. It's

going to hurt to do the right thing. Can I

tell you? So what has this got to do with

God's in charge, God leads revival? Well, let me tell

you this. You and I, we're going to do the

right thing. We're going to try to do the right thing.

It hurts. It We don't have to go very far.

Look at our Jesus. Yet, you know, for which of

these good things that I have done, you stone me.

You want to stone me. Remember, Jesus asked that question.

For which of these good things that I have done,

do you want to stone me? See, if it can

happen to Jesus, we are his servants. He showed us

the way. So I'm not going to sugarcoat what you're

going to go through because revival is going to cost

you now. So these 80 years or these 90 years

that you live is tough, right? So what? When you

measure 90 years against eternity, There is no comparison. I've

lived 65 years, and in 65 years, can I tell

you that so many bad things have happened to me

for trying to do the right thing? Can I share

with you? It's true. So many bad things. But as

I've said before, I'm still standing here God has not

allowed me to be knocked out. I may have been

knocked down but I am not knocked out. Because I

realized that doing the right thing sometimes is going to

cost us. So you don't want to face that cost,

so you start doing the wrong thing. Is that the message? No,

please don't do that. Oh, I don't want to get

knocked down. So I do the wrong thing. Come on now.

I remember that when I first became a Christian, so

I told my dad, right? I'm a Christian. Oh, I

don't believe in it. I believe only in Jesus. He says,

you cross this line and see whether Jesus will stop you.

So I crossed the line and he punched me in

the face. You all don't experience parents like that anymore, right?

You all don't know what I'm talking about, isn't it?

Praise the Lord, okay? Because my parents are all old school.

My father is 94 years old. So that gives you

some impression how... Okay? But I want you to know something. So,

I got hit in the face. My father was a boxer,

by the way. You know what happened to me? You know,

I wasn't bruised, I wasn't hurt, I didn't lose any teeth,

nothing happened to my face. Why is that? Because although

it hurts, God knows how to look after you. As

you will learn later on. So nothing that I'm saying

is not backed up in Scripture. You will learn later on. Okay? So,

is it going to hurt doing the right thing? Yes,

it is. Okay. And when they had laid many stripes

on them, my father only punched me once again. Can

I tell you something about my dad? He is living

his last days at the moment. So I keep my

phone on because anytime he can go. But three weeks

or four weeks ago, he gave his life to Jesus

with his own mouth. So this man, when you ask

him now, do you know Jesus loves you? Yes, I do.

This same man who punched me in the mouth will

call me Terrence. Come here, sit by my side. This

same man. When I tell you the doctors cannot believe

he's alive because after he's stint in hospital, he recovered

from septic shock. He's got kidney stone. He recovered from ELBS.

In case you do not know, it's some very nasty

stomach infection. He has been bleeding internally for the last

three weeks. He is five feet, six inches, or five feet,

seven inches tall, but now he weighs maybe only about

50 kg. His blood pressure is so low. His kidneys

are failing. His leg is necrotic, cannot be operated on anymore.

But today, when he wakes up, how are you? Oh,

I'm okay. That was just yesterday. The caregiver asked, how

are you? I'm okay. Then, are you in pain? No.

How is this possible? God. So I want you to

know it's going to be okay. So they laid many

stripes and then guess what they did? They threw them

in prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. When

you feel you need to go this way to share

the word of God, God said, I want you to

go this way. So we don't see it, right? Because

how many of us would go to a dungeon? We won't.

We want to go to the marketplace. So every time

we can get some food, it's all there. Drink, it's

all there. Nice smelling music and song. That's where we

want to go and minister to the Lord. Truth or truth?

So now, they had laid many stripes and commanded the

jailer to throw them in prison. Having received such a charge,

He put them in the inner prison, not just the

outer prison, the inner prison, and fastened their feet with stalks.

You know, the enemy wants you to disappear. He doesn't

want you to be hurt. So you don't want to

tell your story about Jesus? Guess what? He also doesn't

want you to tell your story about Jesus. Because you say, ah,

my story is not so fantastic, not so fantabulous. So,

he doesn't want you to tell that not so fantabulous story,

that not so fantastic. You know why? Because they know

there's so many people like you. Not fantastic, ordinary, simple people.

Because simple people, when you talk to them, simple stories,

they appreciate. If you tell them a fantastic story, you

know what they say? I'm not like that, it can

never happen to me. Right or not? If you're such

a fantastic person, go on. On exploits, you can jump

off tall buildings in a single bound. You can do all.

And you tell somebody you did that, they say, oh,

I cannot do that. Write off, they will write you

off straight away. But everybody has a story to tell

all the time. Ordinary to ordinary, fantastic to fantastic, everybody

has a story. But the enemy wants to shut you down.

So you don't want to tell that person about Jesus?

I put my face on the line so that my

father can come to the Lord. How long did it

take him? 47 years. Is it worth it? Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Guys,

when there's an old person about to die, I'm told

if you've got family members or you've got uncles or

aunts or dads or moms that don't know Jesus and

you don't know what to do and they are ill,

call me, I will come and I will share Jesus

with them. You know why? Not because I feel I'm

something special, but because I have a desire that they

make it to heaven. Do you and I have that same,

do you have that same desire? That's the kind of

desire we should have. The enemy wants to keep me quiet.

He wants to shut me up. No, I tell Jesus,

am I perfect? No. Am I fantastic? No. I'm ordinary.

But you know what? Somebody needs to hear about Jesus.

But at midnight, at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying

and singing hymns to God. And the prisoners were listening

to them. Some of us, when we sing, people don't

want to listen. That was me, you know. I used

to say, you know the piano? The piano's got the

black key and the white key? Ah, I used to

sing in the cracks. Yeah, so bad was my singing. Seriously. Yeah. Yeah.

My sister used to tell me, hey, please keep quiet,

you're throwing everybody off. You know? Then the pastor would say, no,

leave him alone. He's blessing the Lord. No matter how

he sings, you put a dead body in front of him,

a dead body will come to life. You see, do

you think God listens to you the way we listen

to each other? We listen to our ears with the

words and the tone that comes out of our mouth.

You know how God listens? He listens to the heart. Well,

praise the Lord that I did learn to sing. So

after learning to sing, you know what? I actually had

offers to sing in pubs. Not my calling. You know,

so Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to

God and the prisoners were listening to them. You don't

know what impact you're having on the people around you.

You're just going about your normal business. You're just going

about your normal situation. But you know, people are listening.

They're not listening with their ears. They're listening with their

You know, when I listen to people talk, I listen

to their heart. Sometimes I meet some really nice people, friendly, wonderful.

I will whisper to Elder. Mabel, my heart doesn't feel right.

Something's not right. I'll whisper to her. You know why

I whisper to her? Because I'm checking myself. I don't

want to judge people. And true enough, after a few months,

they show their colors, the Lord has already spoken to

my heart. That's called discernment. So they were praising and suddenly,

suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations

of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors

were open and everyone's chains were loosed. What has the

earthquake got to do with the chains? Nothing. Nothing. The

chain is on your hands and feet. You had the

prison doors open, I cannot, because foundation was shaken because

of the earthquake, right or not? Yes or not? What

has the chains got to do with it? Well, when

God wants to make his presence felt with a miracle,

chains cannot stand. This is where it becomes important for

you and I to understand. Okay. Okay. Praying. Do you

know that this word pray, this word that was used here, pray, prosukomai.

It means I pray, I pray for, I offer prayer.

So that's what they were doing. They were praying and

singing hymns. The singing hymns, they were glorifying God. All right?

They were praying and glorifying God. I want you to

know that one of the derivatives of this word prayer

means exchange. It's one of the meanings. So basically, it

is an exchange of wishes. So God, I wish for

this to happen. Now when God exchange your wish for

something that he wishes, how wonderful is that? How wonderful

is that? I wish you show up and be present.

And he says, I wish that the whole prison comes

to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. You exchange your

wish for his wish. So when you're going through troublesome times,

there's nothing like prayer and worship. Because you've got to

understand that when you do that, there's an exchange happening.

There is an exchange happening. Prayer is so powerful to

see this happen. I don't know what Paul and Silas

were praying for. All I know is that they prayed

and they worshipped. Now, can I ask you, How do

you think that prison was? Did any of you, when

you read the scripture, ever focus on the prison? Ever

focus on the environment? Do you think it was one

of those modern day prisons where there's a toilet pot

and a sink? You think it's like that? You think

got lights, got place to exercise? You think it's like that? Okay,

let me tell you what that prison was like, okay?

Imagine a cold, clammy, dirty place where you go in,

there's no light. Firstly, no light. So this is inner prison, okay?

Inner prison, no light. Dark. You put this light off already,

you cannot take it. This is dark. Now dark is okay.

What do you think lives in the dark? Creatures. Creatures. Rats. Nice, huh?

How many of you like rats as a pet? I'm

not talking mice, okay? I'm talking rats. Filthy, smelly rats.

I'll tell you a story about a rat, okay? So

we got this rat running around the roof. Like playing

the drums. It's like playing the drums. We got very

talented rats in my house. So just to tell you

that the rats don't come into my house, okay? They

come in through the sewer and then sometimes they go

to the ceiling, you know? And when they run across,

it's like doing paradiddles. So anyway, I set a trap

outside the house, up, you know, I've got a little attic,

so I opened the attic door and I put my

rat out. I caught the rat, man. Caught the rat.

I looked at the rat, very cute face. Very cute face.

How to kill? Cannot, ma. I don't have it in me.

I mean, you look at it. So pitiful. So I

decided to let it go. Not near my house. So

I took it, put it in a box, drove the

car 10, 20 kilometers away so the rat does not

find its way back. How I know, maybe it can

come back. So anyway, I drove it. And then I

came to this big drain, okay? Big, huge monsoon drain.

Got water flowing, all that. You know, water flowing. And

then I opened the trap. And I promise you, this

is the truth. The rat ran out. and it dove,

you know, it ran out, and it dove into the air,

like how the divers, you know, the swimming pool, it

dove into the air, and went into the pool like that,

went into the drain. So it actually like wanting to fly,

into the drain. Then it swam to the side, and

ran away. So I thought that was a really talented rat. Okay,

so anyway, so this prison had rats. Do you think,

hey jailer, I need to go to the toilet? The

jailer will come and let you go. Let me tell you,

wherever you are, that was your toilet. Including Paul and Silas.

Do you think that they held it? There's only so

long you can hold. After that, you will just let go.

I mean, this is reality. So God took them out

of a clean place and set them in something really,

really terrible. Do you know that it was in that

environment that they were praising and praying and singing hymns

to God? You and I haven't come close to experiencing

that and yet, We don't want to praise the Lord,

yet we don't want to pray. Is it any wonder

why we don't see as many things happening in our lives?

I mean, when I was preparing and I thought, my word,

I never focused on the prison, what they were going through,

what was their situation. In that dark, dingy, smelly, filthy, rat-infested,

cockroach-infested environment. They were praising the Lord. And they were praying.

And because nothing stopped them, the prison shook. The prison shook. Guys,

You want to see earthquakes happen in your life. Not

every earthquake is bad. Some earthquakes release you. You got

to realize no matter how terrible you think your situation is,

I can trust me, it's nowhere close to what they

were experiencing. But they got the right attitude. And then,

I want you to know what to place. Did they

realize they were sent of the Lord? Do you and

I realize that sometimes that horrible place we are in

is because we are sent of the Lord? See what happens.

And the keeper of the prison, awakening from his sleep,

seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled,

drew his sword and was about to kill himself. This

tells you that that prison was full. Because I don't

think he will draw his sword and kill himself. himself

for two people. Especially since he had nothing to do

with the earthquake. But because he saw this door, he

thought that all the prisoners had fled. He was about

to kill himself. Because he would have been responsible for

all of them. But Paul called out with a loud

voice saying, do yourself no harm for we are all here.

Did you know that the whole prison came to the

knowledge of Jesus Christ? Do you know that the whole

prison received the Lord because Paul and Silas were praying

and singing from their hearts. And how do you know

that they were saved? Guys, if you're in that filthy

prison I just mentioned, no internet, no telephone, No satellite,

no communication. If I run out of that prison, let's

say my hair is long, I cut my hair, I

shave my beard, nobody knows who I am. Do you

think I worry? I will run. I will go out

from there. I'll go to the next town. Nobody will

know who I am. But why did they not run away?

Did you ask yourself that question? They didn't run away

because the worst prison that you and I can ever

face is the one where our heart is behind bars.

That door to Jesus is shut. But when Paul and

Silas When Paul and Silas prayed and they worshipped, they

were doing the work of God. Revival was taking place.

Who ordered that revival? It was in whose control? God's control.

You see, because Paul and Silas want revival in the marketplace.

Where did they find it? In the prison. How many

people you know whose hearts are trapped behind prison doors.

And all they need from you is prayer and the

worship of the Lord to open those prison doors. You

know what? Conviction. What kept the prisoners from running? Conviction

by the manifestation of the presence of God. What will

stop you from running when God makes an appearance? People

will stop running away from God if we exchange our

ideas for His. Remember what I told you? What is

the meaning of the word prayers? Oh, God, you cannot

move in this prison. I need to go there to

praise the Lord. I need to go there to do

that fantastic thing. I need to go there to see

revival take place. No. It's where God has sent you.

So if we exchange our ideas for His and start

praising Him in our pits, guys, when you are in

your pit of your life, oh, Somebody's going to get saved.

You've got to praise him in your pits and people

will see God's hand and will convict them. It will

convict them. So now, you see, the work of God

had taken place in a spectacular way. Can you imagine?

all those people who were shut up in that horrible

place were now free. Because their hearts were free, it

didn't matter where they were. You see, if there was

an earthquake and Paul and Silas were not singing and

they're not sharing the word of God, you know what

would have happened? They would have all run. There is

no prison made by man that it can close or

shut your hearts down. You have a power that you

have only, maybe you have, but maybe you have not

realized just what kind of power you have in your hearts. Guys,

I can imagine that revival will take place each and

every place you are in because your praise and your prayer,

your prayer and your praise, will break every foundation and

chain in your vicinity. And even without saying Jesus is Lord,

people will know something is different and they will come

to know him as Lord and Savior. Because revival is

by the leading of God. Now, then he called, verse 29,

then he called for a light. Oh, I've got to

share this testimony with you. Okay, this is not my testimony.

Just to let you know, ISIS had captured close to

20 Christians and one non-Christian. So those cowards put hoods

over their own heads so nobody would recognize who those

murderers were. And they stood behind each guy with a machete.

And they said, they went to the first one, do

you deny Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior? No, I don't.

Off he said went. But you see, one of that crowd,

a guy by the name of Matthew, was not a believer.

Just so happened that he was in the company. He

was also company of these people that were captured. And

so he was there. So he is now looking at

one by one, the captors going and saying, do you

deny Jesus? No, I don't deny. Off with the head.

Off with the head. Off with the head. Until it

finally came to him. Without saying Jesus come into my

heart and Lord be my Lord and Savior. They finally

came to him. And they said, do you deny Jesus?

He said, no. Their God is my God. And off

went his head. Where do you think he is? You

and I will meet him in heaven. is justified by

his faith in Jesus. Verse 29. Then he called for

a light and ran in and fell down trembling before

Paul and Silas. This is the jailer. And he brought

them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to

be saved? So they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus

Christ and you will be saved, you and your household.

That's where we get this scripture from. in that worst adversity,

something else. You see, that's why I said revival. Did

it just now, revival is starting from the pits and

it's going out. Starting from the dungeon and it's moving

into the place where you and I want to be,

the marketplace. Where did it start? It started in the dungeon.

Then he spoke the word of the Lord to him

and all who were with him in his house saved.

If Paul and Silas were not imprisoned, a whole family,

would have been lost. So many destitute people whom nobody

wanted to know except Jesus would not have received faith.

Who is going to be saved by your troubles? Who

is going to be saved by your troubles for doing

the right thing? And I'm going to end with this.

Verse 33, and he them by the same hour and

night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and his

family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into

the house, he set food before them and rejoiced, having

believed God with all his household. I want you to

know that good life you and I crave, the good

life you and I want, the wounds that we have

for having done the right thing God will soothe. You see,

it always ends up with God soothing our hurt. And

it ends up with God laying before us a banquet

of food and drink. Isn't that wonderful? You'll never suffer

when you're doing the work of the Lord. You'll never

regret it. So now when you go through hardship, your

question that you ask yourself is, who's going to be

saved next?

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

information on our church, please visit xchurch.org. We are also

active on Facebook and Instagram. We're believing that this week

is going to be a good week ahead for you.

God bless.