There is a word from the LORD from the book of Acts:
Acts 16:26 (New King James Version)
26 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.
Intro:
About a month ago, God began to deal with me even before I received this opportunity to preach today. God said “I want you to speak just for a moment because I want somebody to know I have ordered a Divine shake up for them.” Now, I understand that we are to be anointed; shaking the foundation of the earth, but God said “I have ordered a Divine shake up.”
GMWA Women of Worship put out a song a few years ago and the song said:
Order my steps in Your word dear LORD,
Lead me, guide me everyday,
Send Your anointing, Father I pray;
Order my steps in Your word,
I want to walk worthy,
My calling to fulfill.
Please order my steps LORD,
And I’ll do Your blessed will.
The world is ever changing,
But You are still the same;
If You order my steps, I’ll praise Your name
Well that sounds good. That sounds really good. And we say that and we quote scripture: “For the steps of a good man or ordered by the LORD”.
But do you really want God to order your steps?
And to what degree do you want Him to order them to?
Because see, I believe that we want God to order our steps when it is convenient for us.
We want God to order our steps when it’s comfortable for us.
But baby, when God starts ordering your steps, God starts shaking up everything around you.
God will start tearing up some stuff.
Because it’s some stuff in some ways that WE’RE walking that ain’t the way God called us to walk. So if you want God to order your steps, you must be ready for the shake up.
Because (ready or not)…the shake up is on the way!
I. How the steps began to be ordered
Now let me share this with you. The text teaches us when we surrender our all in all to God (?); you do understand that Saul had an experience with Jesus on a Damascus road, and his name was no longer Saul but it turned to Paul(?).
When we surrender our will to God’s will, then God begins to do some things in our lifestyle.
a. The first thing God did was to order Paul’s steps. So, God ordered Paul’s steps in chapter 15 of Acts.
b. God ordered them by allowing a Divine argument between Paul the Apostle and Barnabas the Encourager. And, God allowed this argument to happen for the furtherance of the Gospel.
c. Had they hung side by side, the Gospel would have only been preached on their way (say this a little clearer).
d. But God ordered Paul to get a team mate by the name of Silas and he ordered Barnabas to hook up with John Mark.
So I stopped by this today to let you know God is about to shake some people, some places and some things in your life!
You are trying to hold on to some people, but if you don’t let God shake them you’ll never hear what God is saying to you.
God has to shake some things away from us. Because we’ve got some things my brothers and my sisters that stand in the way of our relationship with God.
e. Some of our things, OHHH LET ME GET RADICAL! Some of us, we worship our Fraternities and Sororities more than we do God. Girl! What are you? Girl, I’m an AKA, I’m a Delta…I’m a Child of the King. That’s what I am!
f. Some of us worship our men. We wonder why we can’t stay in a relationship because every time God allows us to hookup - - some of the people we’re hooking up with God ain’t called us to them…because if He did we won’t have to hook up with somebody else!
g. For some of us, God can’t allow us to have a man because we keep forgetting about the Creator. We start worshipping the gift and not the Giver of the gift.
Oh but Paul was a brother that allowed God to order his steps in the word. And that’s what God is calling for today, some sisters and some brothers that will allow Him to order their steps in the word!
II. The Shake Up/ The Plan
In chapter 15, I told you Paul and Barnabas split up for the furtherance of the Gospel. So as we move into chapter 16 we find Paul with a mind to preach the Gospel in Asia. Ain’t that just like us, we have a mind to do what we want to do. But God is shaking us up.
a. Some of us want to be in the choir, we want to be praise dancers, and we want to be on the hospitality.
b. I want to meet and greet, I want to dance, I want to sing but God is calling for some people to labor in some unusual ways for the furtherance of the Gospel.
c. My brothers and my sisters, do you understand our youth are dying?
d. Do you understand that AIDs is taking over our high schools and black females are top of the list?
e. While you are dancing and singing, the devil is taking our kids out!
But God wants to know can He order your steps into the trenches?
Can He send you were it’s uncomfortable for you to go?
(don’t stop…give them more! This is your hook! Ex..can he send you into the projects; can you minister to pregnant teens; can you help kids on crack!; can you help the homeless find a home…etc)
You have to understand, Paul would have been comfortable, he thought, going to Asia.
But God had another plan for his life. So what God did one night, you do know God works the night shift?
One night God allowed Paul to have a vision and in the vision there was a man from Macedonia and he was praying, “Come over here and help us!” We need some help over here”!
f. And I guarantee you this today, there’s somebody crying, can you help me!
I talked to some of my girlfriends a little while ago, we’re around the same age and use to do some of the same things, and they called me by my old name. They said Star, Crystal is dying, she has cancer. And so I said LORD, what do you want me to do?
h. God said what did you do when you all use to hang together?
i. What did you do when something was about to jump off? You went to the rescue!
j. When you was fighting she was fighting, when she was fighting you was fighting. You all was sharing clothes and drinking Smirnoff’s together.
k. So God said I’ve called you to get with that sista and tell her about ME.
God wants some people today, that ain’t afraid to tell somebody about our Jesus that delivered you.
Quit trying to hide the story and Give God the Glory.
III. The Ordering Continues
So God led Paul and Silas, and the bible said, they immediately got up.
a. See when God call us to do stuff, we start talking about “I got to get a confirmation. I’m waiting on the prophet to come tell me what the LORD said”.
b. The LORD done already told you. He has already told you. You knew what he said and you know what he’s saying.
And the reason why I know, for about the last year, I have wrestled with the LORD. I knew what God was calling me to do. But I said, “God it’s kind of all right over here. I kind of like it where I’m at God. I got a little security over here God. I don’t have to worry about too much over here. And God said…Oh you don’t’! And it was about four weeks ago that I went as close as any woman to a nervous breakdown. Because I was looking at my security, I was looking that it was comfortable where I’m at.
And I began to feel as though I was literally going out of my mind. And so my accountability partner felt what was going on with me in the heavenly realm and she came to me and said you just don’t want to hear God. And so about three o’clock that morning, I got up and began to reason with God.
Now come on you all, here I am trying to reason with God. I began to share some things with God. And God said, do you hear me now? I began to get uneasy in my body and all kinds of things starting to happen and I had to go to the counselor and get some help.
God said “Do you Hear ME Now? So when I got up that Tuesday morning, I said God ain’t nothing worth this.
c. I started feeling better;
d. I began to feel God’s presence like I hadn’t felt it in awhile.
So what I’m saying to you is that when you allow God to order your steps out of your comfort zone, you’ll begin to sleep better. You’ll begin to treat people better. You won’t be mad at everybody because you will be obedient to the WORD of God.
IV. Ministry in the midst of the ordering
Now when God allowed Paul to go over into Philippi, Paul had a down by the river experience.
a. The bible says that one day when Paul was on his way to pray, and there were some women sitting down by the river.
b. And Paul sat down and he began to pray and he began to speak to the women
c. And it caused a woman named Lydia’s heart to be touched and not only was she baptized but her whole family was baptized.
Do you understand my sistas and brothers, when you began to walk in the purpose and walk in the anointing God is calling you to, lives will be changed, hearts will be mended, minds will be fixed, because you are doing what thus said the WORD of God.
V. Purpose on the Journey (Tension)
Right in the middle of it all, can you believe that God would order your steps right into a situation to be beaten and broken?
a. The bible says that Paul and Silas were on their way to pray.
b. And, there was a young damsel who saw these men and she started saying “these men are from the most high God; they come to show us they way to be saved”.
c. Now the word “damsel” in the Greek means that this was a young maiden of noble birth.
d. You didn’t hear me. This girl was a slave with a spirit of divination. Now that spirit is symbolized by the python snake and the python snake was worshipped at the temples of Delphi.
So what I’m saying is, the girl had a demonic spirit in her, but, she was a girl of noble birth acting out of character!
And, this spirit would make her cry out against her will.
d. It would make her do things against her will.
e. But it was some brothers who were pimping this sista.
f. But even though there was a demonic spirit, it recognized…
g. Look here, satan recognizes when the LORD’s people walk in the room.
Anytime you walk in a room demons should to start saying... shhhhhhhhhh.
When you walk in the room BET should shut down.
When you walk in the room, if it don’t go down you should to tell your kids “Turn it off”. My son stays upset with me about BET.
But, this girl recognized, as messed up as she was, that there were some men sent from God in her presence.
h. So she just kept yelling out “These men are from the most High God and they come to show us the way to be saved.”
i. She did it so much; it began to trouble Paul’s spirit.
j. But had it been us, we would have said, she’s crazy and kept on going to church. She would have been hollering out and we would have got right on out our cars and went in the sanctuary. At some people’s churches, they would have been trying to get there to get a seat.
k. But Paul, whose steps had been ordered by the LORD, it troubled his spirit. And Paul turned to the spirit and said “Come out in the name of Jesus Christ”.
My brothers and sisters, God is looking for some people that when you see the spirit of homosexuality,
when you see the spirit of despair,
when you see that spirit of jealously,
when you see that spirit of brokenness…and you can see it in the spiritual realm, that you can say “Come on out devil, in the name of Jesus. You can’t stay here any more!
Is there anybody in here today, that doesn’t mind allowing God to use you?
But the thing you have to realize is when you start walking in your purpose you are going to get in trouble.
As a matter of fact you should do some stuff for the LORD just so you can get in trouble sometimes.
Don’t be satisfied with status quo.
Make a difference.
Bring down the camp of the enemy!
When Paul spoke to the spirit, the spirit immediately came out. Had they not allowed God to order their steps to this particular place this girl would not have ever been delivered!
Who are you missing because you want to go your way and God is trying to get you to go another way?
Whose life is not being impacted because you have your mind instead of the mind of Christ?
It’s alright to jump and shout and praise, but when you come down, how will you walk, how will you live, will you submit your will to the will of God?
VI. The Purpose thickens
Because of this (what?) when the girl got delivered, some people got mad, because, it was no longer business as usual.
It was no longer playtime when it should’ve been praise time!
Give them some more here!
So what we should be about my sisters and my brothers is not business as usual we should be about God’s business!
I don’t know if you know it or not, but there’s a song which says: ‘ain’t no business like show business”, but that devil is a lie! Cause ain’t no business like God’s business.
Because God’s business has eternal effects on the life of men, women, boys and girls!
Ex….God’s business takes us off the path for hell and puts us on the path for heaven!
God’s business Delivers,
And saves,
And, keeps,
And, restores,
And, sanctifies!
If you want God to order your steps…then let God do His business!
So, the text says, they took Paul and Silas to the magistrate and they began to tell them what they did.
a. I can just hear them saying “These men--- well they are not doing business as we do it.”
b. “They are not abiding by the customs that we abide by.
c. That is not our tradition.
Now that’s what church people say. We don’t do it like that. We’ve always done it this way. And we don’t want to change from this way to the way God is trying to lead you to go.
But Paul and Silas stood there, and as they trumped up charges against them they began to strip them.
And I want you to know this today, I hate to tell you this but God will allow you to be stripped!
God will allow you to be beaten!
And, God will allow you to be put down and broke down for the furtherance of the gospel.
Because, if God didn’t strip some of us, if He didn’t let some us be beaten, we wouldn’t ever praise Him.
So they placed them in the prison cell. Now a lot of you all might not have ever visited jail but I have had the privilege to visit before.
There is a place in jail that is known as segregation. Now in this place you are not with the average prisoner. This is the place for the bad actors, this is the place for the brother or sister that will whoop the guard or spit on them.
And, when they take you to this place, the only thing in there is a commode, mat, and you. Now that sounds pretty bad. But Paul and Silas were placed in a place where their legs were chained, were their necks were put in stocks and they were changed next to a soldier but at midnight I could just here them saying:
My Soul Loves Jesus,
My Soul Loves Jesus,
My Soul Loves Jesus,
Bless His Name
They were in jail, singing praise, getting their praise on. So what I want to ask you today, Midnight is coming. It might be at 12 noon but your midnight is certain to come. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?
When midnight comes to your life:
a. Your midnight might be a health issue – But, will you yet praise Him?
b. Your midnight might be unemployment – But, will you yet praise Him?
c. Your midnight might be a wayward child – But, will you yet praise Him?
The Psalmist said: I will bless the Lord at all times, and His praise…
VII. Conclusion
Now the reason Paul and Silas were able to praise in their midnight rendezvous is because of the fact they had been praising Him all the time. It wasn’t the first beating. It wasn’t the first imprisonment. They had been run out of town before. So they were use to trials and tribulations.
But, our problem is…we can’t stand trials and we don’t’ want God to send any Tribulations!
But… when Paul and Silas were praising Him, there was a call that left the prison and it reached the parole officer. You do know that in order to be released from prison… well let me say it like this …in order to be released from segregation there has to be consent by the Warden.
So this time around, when Paul and Silas were praying and singing, it reached the Warden from on High, and touched His ears.
I submit that he said “I’m not going to come down but I’m going to cause an earthquake. When God causes an earthquake, it shakes the very core of things. Now the bible says, not only was Paul and Silas set free but it says that the bonds came off everybody.
Don’t you know when God starts shaking up stuff; when the spirit of the Lord is in a place, there is liberty! When God starts setting you free, I’ll begin to praise God and freedom is mines too. You’ll begin to praise God and freedom will be yours too.
Ain’t no situation to great that God can’t free you.
And the reason God can do that is because Paul and Silas were not the first prisoners (make clearer).
There was a prisoner, who was wrapped up in flesh. He left divinity and He became man. They say He came down and He walked with them, and He talked with them.
But the Bible says, there was a diabolical plot out for Him. The Bible says that when He was in the Garden there were some soldiers that came by. They said are you Jesus? And, they took Jesus and Jesus never said a mumbling word.
Now Peter was a brotha like I am a sista. Peter reached up and wanted to do some damaged and cut one of the soldiers ear’s off. But God put it back on. The Bible says that they took Jesus from judgment hall to judgment hall. And, they said I find no fault in Him. But the people said crucify Him.
And I want you to know that when you start doing the will of God, people will want to crucify your spirit. But don’t worry! The bible says, they took my Jesus and they hung Him on a cross. He hung there all day Friday. And the bible says the He said IT IS FINISHED. But before it was finished the Roman soldier took their spears and pierced Him in his side.
And what can wash away my sins, NOTHING but the BLOOD of JESUS. What can make you whole again, nothing but the Blood of Jesus. They took Jesus down and they laid him in a tomb and he lay there all Night Friday and all day Saturday but EARLY Sunday morning, Jesus got up. And, there was another Earthquake.
Ain’t it just like God, he can do what he does, time and time again?!
And, because He can do what He wants to do…Don’t put any limits on God!
Don’t give up on God because He’s still setting prisoners free!
He’s still making the blind see!
He’s still making the lame walk!
He’s still saving the crack addict,
And the prostitute,
And the alcoholic…etc
My God is a God that if you allow Him to order your steps then you will be able to shake the foundations! And that’s because when Jesus got up he got up with ALL power.
Foundation Breaking Power!
Demonic Spirit breaking power!
Bondage breaking Power! Because He Lives…..
I can face ALL of my midnights
I can face ALL of my trials
I can face ALL of my distractions
Just because He lives. Is there anybody in here today, you know He lives!?
Is there anybody in here today who knows He’s a saving God?
Is there anybody in here today who knows He lives because HE lives in you!!!!?
