Wednesday Night Bible Study

Thank you so much for your giving. Thank you for being here in the house of the Lord tonight. We do welcome every one of you. Glad to see you here on Wednesday night for Wednesday night in the word. I want to say welcome home to several who have been journeying and traveling. Uh I want also want to say a special welcome back home to brother and sister Ellard. Brother Ellard's uncle passed away down in Mississippi and we've been praying for them. So good to have you folks back home uh at First Apostolic Church. Been praying for comfort for the family. We love you guys dearly. And uh uh as was stated before, we're continuing to pray for the uh church family as well as uh the family of brother Brian Hog and his unexpected passing. We're praying that the Lord will give them strength. We'll be journeying over uh for that funeral at the latter part of the week and be praying for all of those folks in this time of loss. It's exciting to get back into the word of the Lord. We have been uh uh as they sometimes say hit or miss. Uh we hadn't missed anything because man have we been having some wonderful wonderful uh church services. Amazing preaching. Uh I was uh just so blessed beyond measure by the ministry that we heard uh from brother Vosquez. And uh if you uh just needed a a gold mine of some insight, we heard two marvelous messages in our uh day services on Thursday. Brother Hosquez taught the men on Friday and then oh what a wonderful time we had uh this past weekend with brother Nate Batson. Uh, I just believe the Lord had it ordained to be so that brother Batson would preach for us and preach to us. And I I I am just full and running over because of the blessings of the word. But I'm excited about getting back into the word of the Lord. And we are following our curriculum that we use uh for our Bible class. And of course, we have our the classes that are meeting tonight in different parts of the campus, and we're praying for them. But I want us to get into the word of the Lord tonight. And I'm going to uh uh format this just a bit different. I'm going to give you our title first before I read our our key text. Uh and I hope I can explain to you why I would do that. But uh our lesson uh tonight uh by the curriculum states Paul and Silas in Philippi and then it states, "I will embrace the spirit's beckoning to joy." I will embrace the spirit's beckoning to joy. Then I want you to hear the passage of scripture that's given with this. For we read in Acts 16, beginning with verse number 16. Acts 16. Beginning with verse 16. And this is where we'll study tonight. And it came to pass as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of deonation met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsay. The same followed Paul and us and cried, saying, "These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation." And this did sheep many days. But Paul being grieved turned and said to the spirit, "I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out the same hour. And when her master saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas and drew them into the marketplace under the rulers and brought them to the magistrates, saying, "These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans." And the multitude rose up against them, rose up together against them, and the magistrates ran off their clothes and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely, whom, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in stops. Now, it's amazing that the title of our lesson would be, I will embrace the spirit beckoning to joy. This doesn't seem too joyous, does it? In fact, our text was added to by the curriculum writer to Philippians the 4th chapter beginning with verse number four that reads, "Rejoice in the Lord always." And again I say, rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. I hope we can find a reason for joy in these words tonight. Let's pray. Savior, I love you. God, I thank you that you have afforded us the privilege to study your word. I thank you for every individual that's here on this Wednesday night to study and to glean from all you have for us. Lord, once again, I stand before you in all of the opportunity, knowing full well that by myself I cannot speak anything, but Lord, that through your word we can speak words of life, words of healing, words of salvation. Now Lord anoint all that we say and do in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. These two passages at first reading certainly seem to be inongruent or incompatible. The first passage in particular seems to do everything but support our title about joy. I will embrace the spirit's beckoning to joy. What could possibly be joyous about being pursued by a demonpossessed damsel? Taken to court, accused, tried, convicted for freeing this young girl of her evil spirit, stripped, beaten, cast into prison, put in stocks. Man, where's the joy in that? I just got got to really search to find any joy there. But let's go back a little bit and examine what got Paul and Silas to this point. If I could give you a quick synopsis of the first part of Acts the 16th chapter. If you read the first 15 verses, you'll find that Paul and Silas are on a missionary journey. And God has miraculously given a vision to Paul to go to Macedonia. In the vision, there was a man beckoning him to Macedonia. And Paul and Silas begin their journey getting direction from God from simply a vision. They change course from where they were even going. You can read all the particulars and details of this. But God has given him a vision and he indeed is headed to Macedonia. So they arrive in Philippi, which was a leading city in Macedonia. And to their surprise, they don't find a man, even though that's what the vision said. Instead, they find women who were praying by the riverside on the Sabbath. Among them was a lady by the name of Lydia who apparently was a god-fearing businesswoman. The Bible told that she was a seller of purple. And God had opened her heart to the message that Paul would preach. and Lydia and her entire household were baptized and her home became the central location or the origins of the church in Philippi. Now this you know we hear about missions work all over the world and how things start and again we have the opportunity as brother Bosque has so beautifully pointed out to see the peril that missionaries were in and turn a few pages and see the victory that God gave them. But we also, if we read properly and understand, there's also times that they did not know what was on the next couple of pages. They did not know what the end would be. There was much uncertainty going by this vision that God had given Paul. And there was much trepidation, I'm sure, when they got to Macedonia, wondering how they would be received before because if I understand it properly, this was Paul's first trip into what was Europe at that time. And as we study it and go further into the story, it brings us to verse number 16 where we read our text. After Paul had developed this relationship with the household of Lydia, this devout woman, there was a sharp contrast that took place. For our text told about a damsel who had the spirit of devonation. Now what the spirit of deonation is simply using the power of the devil himself to foretell and to be a soothsayer. The Bible used the word. It was indeed a power of influencing others and telling them their future. a fortune teller, if you will. And she was a slave to masters apparently who were her handlers who used her ability or actually her possession to financially gain and to accomplish what they wanted to through these evil spirits. But something started happening when Paul and Silas started moving through Philippi. This young damsel began following them around and she began telling everybody. She said, "These men are servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation." Now again, this seems improb improbable and unlikely that an evil spirit was making this identification. But let me point out to you, it is likely though the statements she was making were true. It is likely that this young lady was trying to attach herself and affiliate herself with the successes and miracles that were being done by God through Paul and Silas. They wanted to gain her and her handlers, her masters as the scripture calls them, wanted to gain business credibility by attaching themselves to these two men of God who were ministering. And this is something we should be very aware of nowadays. Satan will attach himself to truth and a successful move of God for his own gain if we aren't careful. Never mistake WHEN THERE'S A TRUE move of God, Satan's going to show up and try to disrupt, but he will also try to find gain for his own agenda. Second Timothy 3 identifies some things we should be aware of. 2 Timothy 3:1 says, "This, know also that in the last days perilous times shall come." I'll leave it up to you to decide whether we're in the last days and whether we're living in perilous times by the description that's given. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affections, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, and notice this, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. Here's that issue that I want you to be aware of that the enemy will even try to attach himself to truth and to God's work if it means gain. Notice it didn't say lovers of pleasures and stop. It said lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. You're going to find folks who say they love God, but they love pleasure more. We should all look in the mirror occasionally. We should all do a self-examination and say there are some things if I put them before God, I make them a sin. There are pleasures in life. There's nothing wrong with pleasures of life unless they are more important to you than God. It's just that simple. I've said it before, but I'll remind you again. The old saying is this. Give a man a fish and he can eat for the day. Teach a man to fish and he'll buy a bass boat and miss Sunday school. There's nothing wrong with fishing, but if fishing becomes more important than serving God, fishing becomes a sin. If your golf game becomes more important than serving God, it becomes a sin. If your job comes becomes more important than serving God, you make your job a sin. >> It's important for us to understand prioritization. He said, "Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof." This damsel who used devonation to be a fortune teller and foretell things to people and to make a living for her masters had a understanding of godliness. She knew that these men were preaching the plan of salvation. She knew that these men were bringing the truth to Philippi. She knew and she said, "THESE MEN ARE TELLING YOU SALVATION'S MESSAGE, but she wasn't following it." You know, sadly, I'm sure there are some of you that in your the own ranks of your family. There are individuals who know the truth, believe the truth, but do not live the truth. That's a sad situation to be in to have a form of godliness but deny the power that goes along with it. He said from such turn away for of this sort are there are they that creep into houses that may be creep into the church house and lead captive silly women laden with sin led away with divers's lusts. You see, we must never think because we are in a house of worship that everything that comes into the house of worship is of God. It's important that we have spiritual maturity and intuitiveness, if you will, to be able to to discern the difference in right and wrong. Sadly, so many have BEEN LED ASTRAY RIGHT from the house of God by someone with ulterior motives for the flesh. This is why it is so damning and despicable for one who carries the gospel to live a double life and a sinful life and to lead others astray while proclaiming they're bringing a salvation message. He said led away with divers's lust, ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. How sad to be around the truth, to hear the truth, to be in the presence of truth, but never allow truth to truly lead your life in all paths. You see, this is why the spiritually mature should examine all things spiritually. This is why we pray about things that some folks think, well, that's silly to pray about that. Listen, before you make a major purchase, you ought to pray about it. Before you buy a house, before you buy a car, in fact, there purchases a lot less important than that that we'd be doing good if we'd pray about doing. There's decisions that we if we would take it to God first than then rather after we're in trouble. 1 John 4 said this, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God. Because many false prophets are gone out into the world, you better be careful about the voices that you allow to speak into your life." >> Hereby know ye the spirit of God. Every spirit that confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. Unless we can believe that Jesus was God manifest in flesh, we might might ought to be careful about the voice that we're listening to. And every spirit that confessth not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of Antichrist. We've got FOLKS WALKING AROUND ALL THE TIME. THEY'RE LOOKING for the Antichrist. They looking for some guy walking around with 666 in his forehead and he's doing all this and doing all that. You better watch. There is a spirit of antichrist that's already in the world. >> THINGS THAT CAUSES FOLKS TO DRAW AWAY FROM CHRIST IS ANTIRIST. >> It doesn't have TO BE THE ANTICHRIST. IT IS A SPIRIT of being antirist >> whereof we have heard that it should come and even now already is it in the world. How much more in first John if it was in the world then is the spirit of the antirist in our world now. And something started happening. Paul and Silas, they were walking around. And let me let me weigh my words carefully so we can hopefully understand the spirit and the nature of what would take place next. This lady, this damsel who was possessed with an evil spirit was speaking truth. But she was speaking truth in such a manner that it became a distraction to truth. Now, this isn't all that deep, but if you need spiritual galos, put them on. You know that the enemy would like to come right into our services and distract with false worship. >> Now stay with me. Uh nobody's going to run. I know that. No, nobody's going to uh shout and dance. And we must be those who are spiritually intuitive enough to know the difference in real worship and self adulation. We must be cautious enough that we try the spirits and understand that everything that claims it is of God is not of God. We must be spiritually mature enough to know that there will be there will come a time to draw a line and say, "Hey, real worship needs to take place." Now, if you're not careful, you know what also can happen? Improper worship can make real worshippers afraid to worship at all. >> You know, the thing that the enemy can't deal with more than anything else is a house full of worshippers. There's sometimes we need to outworp false worship with real worship. We need to be the ones that's lifting our voice and our praise and our adoration unto God that it it absolutely drowns out any false worship. Can I get an amen in the house somewhere? Sometimes rather than watching what anybody else would do and something that we've tried the spirits and WE KNOW IT'S NOT REAL, MAYBE IT'S TIME FOR us to get excited AND BE MORE WORSHIPFUL THAN WE'VE EVER BEEN BEFORE. But you see, Paul eventually was troubled by the persistence and the disruption that this woman was bringing to them moving through the community. Brother Blake Miller preached a marvelous message during camp meeting and he used the word impertuity in his title. Talked about impertuity. I'm a uh a vocabulary person. I like to know what words really mean. And the term impertuity means persistent especially to the point of annoyance. Import. This woman had approached the disciples or rather these missionaries Paul and Silas as in an impertuitous manner. She was persistently to the point of annoyance following them around saying these these are men OF GOD AND THEY'RE THEY'RE PREACHING the truth. Now understand in that community, everybody in the community knew who she was and everybody in the community knew that she was a soothsayer and a devonator and that she had masters that they were making money off of her. But her consistent persistent making this proclamation finally annoyed Paul till he had had enough. Paul turned to her said in the name of Jesus Christ. Spirit come out of her. You see, false spirits and evil spirits have to flee when truth comes forward and the name of Jesus is invoked by those who are called and anointed. When the name of Jesus is invoked, suddenly evil spirits have to flee. Let me tell everybody in the house before you turn to everything else, you need to have the power of the name of Jesus working in your life. You need to be able to call on the name of Jesus in a time of trouble. It don't just happen. YOU NEED TO ALREADY BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT. >> I remember many, many years ago, and I I've told this story as Bishop has, but I I will repeat it again. Many, many, many years ago, we had gone to Kentucky for a youth rally for the Kentucky District, and they had their youth rallies up uh near Louisville, Kentucky on a Saturday night. And Bishop had preached, and we were driving home trying to get back home for Sunday service. And it was the wee hours of the morning and it was in the days before I75 had been completed. He used to get off uh of I75 somewhere in that northern edge of of Kentucky and and or rather the northern edge of Tennessee, south southern edge of Kentucky and began hitting the two-lane roads and uh uh going uh uh over the mountains and down through the valleys and we got within just a few miles of home. And as a kid, I had already sacked out. I was I was on the back seat asleep. And I heard my mama say, "Oh, Jesus, he's going to get us." And then I heard my dad say, "In Jesus name." I didn't know what was going on. The next thing I knew, I heard gravel and all kind of noise underneath the car and rattling and I still didn't know what was going on. I was thrown off the back seat in the floor. By the way, Brother Edgar, I remember this well, Brother Edgar Tetrich had given me an ABA basketball, red, white, and blue. And when I fell out in the the floor of the car, I landed on my basketball. I remember that for some reason. But indelibly in my mind was, "Oh, Jesus, he's going to get us." And in the name of Jesus, I found out later that we were just a few miles from home. And on that two-lane road in the distance, the car lights swerved over and got in our lane. And my dad thinking there's some way to avoid this changed lanes and got in the wrong lane hoping that car would pass us on the wrong side. And at the last moment that driver either inebriated or waking up weaved back in the proper lane. And the reason my dad said, "Oh Jesus," was because he didn't know what was off the side. But he knew that was better than having a head-on collision. And he just turned the the tires and the wheel right off the side of the road. In just a moment, I remember crawling up out of the back seat and looking out the back window to see that vehicle that we had missed now weaving back and forth on the road going on. And I heard my mom and dad travailing saying, "Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. As we pulled back up on the road the next day, it had been such a traumatic event. After Sunday school, mom and dad, we drove all the way back out to where that was to see where we'd gone off the road. And it appeared that there was just one little place right there that there was room that there was not a a a steep embankment. They they'd gone off the side and the mailboxes that were on the side of the road had come up on the wrong side of the car and had gone off and come back on. You can call it coincidence. You can call it accident. You have the right to be wrong. >> I'm just here to tell you the name of Jesus brings peace. The name of Jesus brings comfort. THE NAME OF JESUS BRINGS PROTECTION. YOU NEED TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ THAT YOU CAN CALL ON HIM AND YOU CAN REBUKE the enemy in your life. YOU CAN CALL ON Jesus >> in a time of trouble. You see this casting out this spirit did not bring an immediate excitement of joy. In fact, to the Philippians in that city, it was a quite an unexpected response. You would thought everyone would be happy that this girl had been relieved of an evil spirit. But instead, this newly freed damsel, because she had lost her ability of devonation, brought disappointment to the Philippians. Her masters were enraged because they had now lost their source of income. Instead of showing gratitude and thanks, they dragged Paul and Silas into the marketplace before the local rulers. They accused them of bringing illegal customs in among these Romans. They rallied the crowd against Paul and Silas. And there was such mass rage that the magistrate stripped them. And the Bible says, "And beat them with many stripes." Put them in prison and in stocks in the prison. I mean, it's bad enough to be in prison, but they put them in stocks in the prison. Their movement inside the prison was totally eliminated. Can you imagine? Now, I said you can turn a couple of pages and find the end. But what was Paul and Silas thinking at this very moment? God, we've answered your call. We went to Macedonia. We came here to Philippi. We met Lydia and her family was baptized. We've established a gathering place for converts in this city. We've cast out an evil spirit in your name only to be in this perilous condition. I can't find a lot of joy. But you see, God had a bigger plan for Paul and Silas. They had pioneered a new work and new territory. And you got to understand when you get in the devil's territory, there will be opposition. When somebody hear me tonight, some of us be find ourselves intimidated to be a witness when the opportunity arises because we're worried about the opposition. You see, there's going to be times that God's going to give you the opportunity AND HE'S GOING TO CALL YOU INTO A NEW TERRITORY. It may be a neighbor. It may be a family member. It may be an OPPORTUNITY DURING A BREAK AT WORK THAT SOMEBODY'S ASKING YOU SOME SCRIPTURES ABOUT QUESTION. UH, are you worried ABOUT THERE BEING OPPOSITION? ARE YOU GOING TO SAY, "GOD, YOU OPEN THE DOOR. I'M GOING TO STEP THROUGH IT NO MATTER WHAT COMES." THE ACCUSATIONS were unfair and untrue. They were not there to cause trouble. They were just there to bring the gospel. They came preaching a message of peace but were accused of inciting uprisings. Yet the mob was the one who was adversarial. So what would your response be? What would my response be? I fear that myself included, I might be having a pity party in the prison. If I could get my hands loose from these bonds, I might put my shoulder out of place trying to pat myself on the back. Poor me. >> I tried to do a work for God and this is what happened. Oh, woe is me. God, why would you allow this to happen to me? But you see, Paul and Silas at their lowest point, verse 25 tells us what happened, and you know it because you already turned the page. And at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God. LORD HAVE MERCY. IN THE LOWEST PLACE THEY COULD POSSIBLY BE, THEY FOUND a way and a reason to pray and sing praises unto God. LISTEN, YOU SING PRAISE SONGS, YOU JUST CAN'T GET TOO SAD. WHEN YOU START PRAISING, WORK, MAN, YOU CAN WALK IN THIS CHURCH AND IT'S BEEN A bad week, a bad month, or a bad year, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN PRAISE STARTS GOING UP. I HEAR THE KEYBOARD PLAY. I HEAR A SINGER SING. I SEE FOLKS WORSHIPING, PRAY, SOMETHING STARTS HAPPENING WHEN YOU START PRAYING AND PRAISING. PAUL AND SILAS PRAYED AND PRAISED >> AND THE BIBLE SAYS THIS, "AND THE PRISONERS heard them." I understand silent prayers, but sometimes you need to say something so you can hear it and everybody else can. Sometimes your praise needs to get loud and you need to open your mouth. Bishop Carpenter, I heard him at conference AGAIN SAY, "PRAY LOUD ENOUGH THAT YOU CAN HEAR yourself pray." If you can't hear it, who else is going to? >> It's a time for audible vocal praise. And it says, "And suddenly there was a great earthquake." Now, you can say that was by accident if you want to. You got a right to be wrong again. Praise and prayer brought a shaking. And that shaking was so great, the scripture says, so that the foundation of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were open and everyone's bands were loose. Now that's some shaking. You can say it was coincidence if you want to. when there was an earthquake strong enough to open the doors on every door in the prison and to break the bonds loose. I call that a joyous jailbreak. That's what was taking place. A joyous jailbreak around midnight. This dark, unfamiliar area that they were in, probably in the dark of the lowest part of the prison, they hadn't stooped to despair. Paul said to Silas, "Hey, do you remember the words that praise song we used to sing? Let let's pray together a little bit. Let let's let's let let's start singing." I'm sure the prison guards that were in there had had heard prisoners making noise before. Probably a lot of them cursing and and making their threats and claims. They'd heard other folks cry and probably had heard prayers of desperation. But there was something different coming out of this cell. THERE WAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT taking place. It said that that that they heard them praying. >> And then something else happened. You have to understand Jewish law and lore for rather Roman law and lore. For in Rome, if you were a soldier or if you were in charge of a prison, the way they made sure you didn't let anybody escape, if you let somebody escape, it meant your life. And when the prison overseer realized that the doors were open, chains were gone. He assumed, as most would, I'm a dead man. He drew a sword and started to commit suicide. Paul stayed and said, "Do yourself no harm. We're still here." Paul said, "You're not getting rid of me that easy." We're not running now. God's already done a work. Let me tell you, when God does a work and does a miracle like that, it was no time to flee. It was time to make disciples. Paul started ministering to him and the the prison leader, he realized there's something different taking place. He took them AND HE BEGAN TO WASH THEIR WOUNDS that he LIKELY WAS PART OF PUTTING THE STRIPES ON THEIR BACK IN THE FIRST PLACE. AND THEN PAUL TURNED AROUND AND BAPTIZED HIM. WHY? BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT HE SAID? He he fell down to the feet and he said, "What must we do to be saved?" Paul said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." >> But Paul didn't stop there. Paul said, "We're going to baptize you." He was just fulfilling what Jesus had said over in Mark 16. Jesus said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned." Paul was just fulfilling what Jesus had already taught. These missionaries now found a new opportunity in the midst of a catastrophic earthquake to win the lost. They would go to the jailer's home and he is his entire family would be baptized. So let me ask us all, what will we do when we find ourselves in this world's temporary restraints and prison, the troubles? Can we find joy in a difficult time? Can we find an opportunity to pray and praise when it looks like things are at their bleakest moment? I take you toward the end for I I zoom ahead in time to Paul once again in prison. Paul when he went into a new community, he wasn't trying to find where the five-star accommodations were. He probably asked, "Well, what kind of jail do they have here?" because he he knew preaching the gospel in that day was going going to get him in trouble. So, we find Paul years later in prison. And here's what he's doing. He's pinning a letter back to that church that he established at Philippi. He's he's writing what we know as the book of Philippians. And let me read you just a few of his words. This is what he's sending back to the Philippians again from prison. Philippians 1:12, he said, "But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel." He said, I may be in jail again, but it's just for the furtherance of the gospel. So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all other places. And many of the brethren in the Lord waxing confident by my bonds are much more bold to speak the word without fear. He said I may be locked up but he said this this is thing is multiplying. That same happening that started us on our way when PAUL AND SILAS FIRST GOT to Phil Philippi is now it's growing. It's reaching the palaces. It's reaching and folks are are less afraid. They've lost their fear. Verse 18 of that same chapter, Philippians 1 says, "What then? Notwithstanding everywhere, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ has preached, I therein DO REJOICE. YAY will rejoice. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through through your prayer and the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectations, my hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness as always. So now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death. for for to me to live as Christ and to die is gain. What an attitude. I can't lose. He said, I'm in prison and I'm a winner. I'm joy. I'm joyous and rejoicing. I face two possibilities. I may be released from prison or I may die a martyr, but I'm confident that it's all for the furtherance of the gospel. In fact, if you read through the entire book of Philippians, Paul's letter to the Philippian church repeated repeatedly, you will find him using the word rejoice. Rejoicing. He commanded them time and time and time again to rejoice. In fact, this is how our text tied together. when he said in Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always." And again, I say, "Rejoice." Can we rejoice? Can we rejoice in a time of trouble? I close with this tonight. And I know that many of you have heard this story before, but I I'm going to read it just as I have it. I have this this saved in uh in my iPad and some notes about praise. In 2014, a 9-year-old boy named Willie Mrick was kidnapped from his driveway in Atlanta, Georgia. Willie was terrified, but he remembered a song from church. For three hours, the kidnapper drove him around the city while Willie sang a gospel fa favorite. Every praise, you know, every praise is to our God. Every word of worship is to our God. The kidnapper cursed at Willie and told him to shut up, growing progressively more annoyed. In an amusing understatement to reporters, Willie acknowledged he was probably irritated of me singing. Seemingly unafraid, even as a kidnapped nine-year-old in the back seat, Willie repeatedly sang the hook. God my deliverer. Yes, he is. Yes, he is. God, my deliverer, yes, he is. Yes, he is. God, my deliverer. Yes, he is. Yes, he is. God my for three hours. Finally, unable to endure any more of the private gospel concert, the kidnapper shoved Willie out the door, told him not to tell anyone what had happened. Willie was rescued and his story naturally went viral, reaching numerous news outlets, even leading to a meeting between Willie and the gospel artists who sang the song Every Praise. Hezekiah Walker. There was an article written and presented to Fox 4 in that area that said, "Boy sings gospel song until kidnapper can't stand it anymore and tells him to get out of the car." Willie Mrick's deliverance anthem was written by David Bratton, inspired by a Sunday sermon about praise. Bratton pinned the chorus. He stated, "After I wrote Every Praise, I thought it was too simple and that nobody would think it was a real song because it only had a few lines. Three years after writing the chorus, he added a short bridge and the song was eventually recorded Every Praise. It became a soaring success. It was number one on gospel radio for 26 weeks and dubbed the gospel song of the decade by Billboard magazine in 2019. Astonished at the song's popularity, Bratton reflected on its simplicity, stating, "It can be sung by the most talented or the least talented. Just about every musician can play it. I've heard it sung with just a guitar and a washboard. I've heard it sung with orchestras, though the writer initially thought it was barely a song. The few memorable lines helped save a young man's life. Let me tell you, if you'll learn to rejoice in every situation, stand with me. If we as the children of God will have rejoicing in our heart, we will have the voice of praise on our lips. No matter what we're facing, you can find joy in the most dire situation. If you know how to pray and you know how to praise, let's talk to the Lord right now. Lord Jesus, I love you. God, I thank you that you have put praise on our lips and joy in our hearts. Lord, I know no matter the situation I may face, I am not alone when I call on your name and when I give you praise. Lord, something happens when I rejoice in you. Lord, your word tells us to rejoice in you always and again to rejoice. Lord, let us never forget this secret way that we have of dealing with every situation. Now Lord, let us go with this from this place with joy, rejoicing in you for all this. We're grateful and thankful in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen and amen. Lord bless you. I love you. First Apostolic Church be here Sunday morning expecting a great time in the Lord. You're dismissed in Jesus name.