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Today's Word 10-09-26 Praise Him Before the Door Opens · The Early Morning Praise Party w/ Sherry Mackey

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  Speaker 1: It's your early morning praise party. I am Sherri Mackey
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  Speaker 1: and it's time right now for today's word. Praise him
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  Speaker 1: before the door opens. Praise him before the door opens.
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  Speaker 1: Acts 16, 25 says, about midnight, Paul and Silas were
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  Speaker 1: praying and singing hymns to God and the other prisoners
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  Speaker 1: were listening to them. Imagine being Paul and Silas. They'd
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  Speaker 1: been beaten, falsely accused, and thrown into prison all because
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  Speaker 1: they were doing what God had called them to do.
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  Speaker 1: Their backs were wounded. Their feet were locked in chains.
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  Speaker 1: They were sitting in a dark prison at midnight. And yet,
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  Speaker 1: the Bible says they were praying and singing hymns to God. Now,
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  Speaker 1: they could have complained. God, where are you? Why are
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  Speaker 1: you allowing this to happen? We were doing your work.
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  Speaker 1: Why did you allow this to happen to us? This
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  Speaker 1: isn't fair. But instead of allowing their circumstances to steal
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  Speaker 1: their joy, they found a song in the middle of
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  Speaker 1: their struggle. And here's the lesson, y'all. Your praise cannot
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  Speaker 1: always be dependent on your circumstances. Sometimes you've got to
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  Speaker 1: praise God when the situation hasn't changed. Praise him when
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  Speaker 1: your answer hasn't come yet. Praise him when the door
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  Speaker 1: hasn't opened yet. Praise him when you're still waiting. Praise
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  Speaker 1: him when you don't understand what God is doing. Because
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  Speaker 1: praise is not always a response to what God has done.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes praise is an expression of of faith and what
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  Speaker 1: you believe God is still able to do. Paul and
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  Speaker 1: Silas didn't know how the story was going to end,
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  Speaker 1: but they knew who God was and they trusted that.
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  Speaker 1: And something powerful happened, y'all. Suddenly there was an earthquake.
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  Speaker 1: The prison doors opened and their chains came loose. Their
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  Speaker 1: praise didn't mean they weren't hurting. Their praise meant their
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  Speaker 1: pain wasn't going to have the final word. Come on, Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: and notice something else. The other prisoners were listening. Your
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  Speaker 1: response to adversity may be somebody else's testimony. People are
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  Speaker 1: watching how you handle the midnight season. They're watching whether
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  Speaker 1: you fall apart when things don't go your way. They're
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  Speaker 1: watching whether you become bitter or whether you continue to
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  Speaker 1: trust God. So you keep a song in your heart.
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  Speaker 1: You may not be feeling like singing right now. You
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  Speaker 1: may have tears in your eyes. You may not know
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  Speaker 1: How God is going to work it out. But you
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  Speaker 1: can still say, Lord, you are good. You are faithful.
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  Speaker 1: You are still God. And I trust you. Your praise
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  Speaker 1: strengthens your faith. It reminds you that your circumstances are
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  Speaker 1: just temporary. But God is eternal. And who knows, the
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  Speaker 1: very place where you thought you were trapped may become
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  Speaker 1: the place where God demonstrates his power. So don't wait
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  Speaker 1: until the prison doors open to praise him. Praise him
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  Speaker 1: while you're still in the prison. Praise him at midnight.
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  Speaker 1: Praise him in the waiting. Praise him in the uncertainty.
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  Speaker 1: Because when you keep your heart anchored in God, you
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  Speaker 1: can have peace everywhere. before the breakthrough, joy before the answer,
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  Speaker 1: and a song before the doors open. Oh, Father God,
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  Speaker 1: thank you for being with us in every season, especially
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  Speaker 1: the seasons we don't understand. When we find ourselves in
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  Speaker 1: the midnight hour, help us to keep a song of
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  Speaker 1: praise in our hearts. When we're disappointed, remind us of
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  Speaker 1: your faithfulness. When we're waiting, strengthen our faith. When we
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  Speaker 1: can't see a way, help us to trust that you
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  Speaker 1: are still working. We choose to praise you not because
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  Speaker 1: everything is perfect, but because you are still God. Let
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  Speaker 1: our praise strengthen us and become a testimony to everyone
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  Speaker 1: watching our lives. We believe you're working even when we
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  Speaker 1: can't see it. In Jesus' name. That's your word for today.
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  Speaker 1: Take it, apply it to your everyday life, and you
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  Speaker 1: continue to be encouraged and inspired. It's your early morning
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  Speaker 1: praise party. I am Sherri Mackey.