Today's Passage - 1 Thess 2:1-2

1 Thessalonians 2:1-2 You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. Here Paul referred to the persecution he suffered in Philippi. There was a girl who was demon-possessed and her masters made a fortune from her using witchcraft. Later on Paul drove the demon out of her and her masters discovered that hope of making money was gone. Hence they brought Paul and Silas to the authorities to have them flogged, thrown into prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. Even in gospel in spite of strong opposition, Paul was preaching the gospel. The secret to this breakthrough was they were praying and singing hymns to God in the prison cell. Acts Chapter 16 specifically refers to this incident. At midnight, the Holy Spirit promoted Paul and Silas to start praising God out loud. The sound of praise must be beautiful, otherwise the other prisoners would not have been listening. When they were praising God, a miracle happened. There was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose. The Bible says Heaven is God's throne and earth is His footstool. Because God was delighted by the beautiful singing from Paul and Silas, He started tapping His feet and created a violent earthquake. However, the real miracle is not in this. If you were a prisoner in this prison, when your chains came loose and the prison gates flew open that night, your first reaction would be to run and escape! As such, the jailer was devastated and thought everyone would have escaped. He was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!" No one prisoner had run away. I believe this is because when Paul and Silas were praising God, God's presence filled the entire prison and everyone could sense His presence. The hearts of the prisoners were filled with awe and were touched by the Spirit of God, so they did not want to run away. They were surrendering to the authority of God and believing that Jesus is Lord. The jailer's first response to this was, "What must I do to be saved?" Paul replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you and your household will be saved." The jailer and his household were saved that night. I believe that this incident shook the entire region of Philippi and brought many people to believe in Jesus, and hence built up the church of Philippi. In the midst of trials, God brought about breakthrough because Paul and Silias were singing praises to God. Brothers and sisters, we really need to learn this lesson of praise because when we praise God in the midst of difficult times, God can bring about breakthrough in our environment and we can bear much fruit for the Lord. May the Lord help us to learn the lesson of praise and worship today. Pray with Pastor Tong Lord, I thank you because nothing is impossible for you. You are the God who can rescue us in the midst of the battle. May God open our mouths and hearts to learn to praise and worship you each day, knowing that you will open up a path for us so that our lives will bear much fruit. I thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!   Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow the project on Facebook ! Help us to reach our Phase I Target, and witness how God expands His Kingdom on earth!  Click here to donate online.