The Door of Worship | Doors | Pastor Brad Wilkinson

We will give things and people that don't even know us or care about us, our best, and then we'll walk into the house of God on a Sunday morning and we'll give God our leftovers. It was a long weekend. I mean, I'm exhausted. Can I just remind you that God's holiness, let me say it this way, our worship is not based upon how we feel. Our worship is based upon the holiness of God and His holiness never changes. He is always worthy of our greatest praise. One of those places, we're wrapping up a series that we've been in called Doors and we've been looking, well, what I love about Doors is spiritually speaking and through the context of scripture, doors represent a lot. Doors represent access. Doors represent opportunity. Doors represent separation. Doors represent transition from one season to another. If you'll remember in week one, we talked about the door of protection, looked at the children of Israel and Egypt and the plagues. I won't go into detail about that, but the 10th and final plague for protection for the children of Israel. The Lord said that they had to slaughter a spotless lamb and put the blood of the lamb on the doorpost of the house and stay in the house until night was over, until morning time and they would be protected. We looked at the door of protection and then the second week, we looked at the door of priority and if you'll remember, right next to the door of priority is always the door of distraction and both of them are open 24-7. You have an option every day. Will you choose to walk through the door of priority or the door of distraction? The enemy knows, and this is where we landed in week two, the enemy knows that he doesn't have to get you to hate God. If he can just get you to put other things in front of God, everything that ensues in

your life becomes chaotic because your life is out of order. If we walk through the door of distraction consistently and constantly, our life is not in alignment with God, therefore we're wondering how in the world, how did we get here? A lot of it doesn't happen intentionally. Sometimes it erodes over time and God starts as number one, but other things become more important. Then if you'll remember in week three, week through, you ever heard of that week? In week three, wow, we're just going to go with it now. In week through, we looked at the door of no return and it kind of dovetailed off the first week because after the 10th and final plague, the pressure was so much on Pharaoh and the Egyptians that they relented and they let the children of Israel free from slavery, bondage from some 400 plus years. The children of Israel are leaving Egypt and you know the story. As always, Pharaoh changes his mind and they start pursuing them like, what did we do? Why did we let them go? Well, now the children of Israel are standing on the banks of the Red Sea with the full power of the Egyptian army behind them, mountains on either side of them and in front of them, there seems to be no way forward. The Lord instructs Moses, he says, hey, stretch your hand over the Red Sea, I'm going to do something crazy. I'm going to part the waters and you guys are going to walk through on dry ground. It's exactly what happens. They get through on dry ground. He instructs Moses, stretch your hand back over the Red Sea where you just came from. He does that. The waters return to their normal capacity, which would obviously wipe out the Egyptian army that is coming behind them. But here's kind of where we landed in this week, that what if the waters didn't return just to take out the enemy that was chasing them? What if the water returned as a reminder to the children of Israel that I brought you

from that and since I brought you from it, this is a door of no return. You are not to go back to an old way of living, an old way of talking, an old way of thinking. And then last week, we looked at the door of temptation and we learned how to slam the door shut and chain it closed. And so throughout this series, we have looked at doors that God has provided. We've looked at doors that you have to willingly choose to walk through. We've looked at doors that are one way only. We've looked at doors that need to be chained closed forever. Today I want to introduce you to a bit of a different door and the door that we're going to study today in scripture is actually, and this is not the name of the door that we're studying, but this is a description of the door that we're studying. locked door and this door was barred, this door seemed impossible. The door we're looking at today, spoiler alert, actually ends up opening. But the door doesn't open because they had everything right, they had their life in order, they had systems and processes in place. The door today didn't open because of influence with people or politics, not at all. In fact, today we find ourselves in Acts chapter 16 and in this chapter we see two followers of Jesus who are walking to their daily place of prayer. This was habitual for them, they went to this place of prayer daily. And on this specific day and really many days previous, as we'll learn in the text today, they encounter a young girl who is possessed by a spirit. And Acts chapter 16 tells us that this girl was actually making a lot of money for her handlers telling people's fortunes. Scripture continues that she would follow these two believers, these two men of God, she would follow them day after day and she would follow them and she would be saying the same thing. Now on the surface this doesn't sound so bad, but this is what she would scream as she followed them every day, these men are servants of the most high God who are telling you the way to be saved. Now listen, if you were to follow me and say that behind me, I'm like, hey, that's not

a bad description of me, I like, yeah, that's good. Now, I might get annoyed because when I'm walking into Chick-fil-A, I'm like, man, just let me eat for a second, I don't need you. But they understood that there was more at play, that there was something behind what she was doing and what she was saying and you'll see it very quickly because the text shows us the human emotion of even followers of Jesus, which I think is interesting because scripture says that one of them became so annoyed with her. You ever have those people that you just get annoyed with? You're like, no, it'd be you. I hope not. But one of them gets so annoyed with her, again, understanding what's behind the statement that she's making, he turns around and he speaks to the spirit that's possessing her and he says this, in the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her. He's not even speaking to her, he's speaking to the spirit that is possessing her and he declares that in the name of Jesus, I command you to come out and guess what happened? You know, yeah, the spirit left her. Now, think about this for a second. It doesn't matter whether you're running an honorable business or a dishonorable business. If your business is profitable and in a moment you stop making profit, how does that make you feel? Some of y'all ain't never had money problems. If you have a profitable business and then all of a sudden the money that was flowing in that was paying your bills, paying your car note, your insurance, stops, what happened? You can imagine the emotions that it would trigger in this young girl's handlers who were used to having income flowing into their pockets because she was telling people's stories. It triggered a very, very emotional response. They are angry that their source of income has now just been put to an end, that they are no longer making money on her and so they cause such an uproar in the city that these two men whom you know as Paul and Silas are about to face some pretty difficult challenges. Acts chapter 16 verse 22, the crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas.

They are now together with these handlers of this girl and they join the attack against Paul and Silas and the magistrate ordered them to be stripped. and beaten with rods. Now, I want you to think about this for a second because this is a story that many of us know, many of you could, you already know the end of the story. Some of you don't, but there's some of you that are like, you know where I'm going before I even get there. And it's very easy in a story like this to miss maybe the magnitude of what's happening here. Like, I want you to sit in this for just a second. These two men, much like Joseph from last week, think they're doing a good thing, and they end up finding themselves in a really bad situation. They are taken captive, and we know that they're stripped. That's embarrassing enough, amen? No, y'all don't mind it? No, I don't know. And they're beaten with rods. This is where they find themselves. Verse 23 says, after they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. So let's just make sure we're all on the same page here this morning. This was more than a simple incarceration. This was more than, ah, I did something I shouldn't have done

and I'm gonna just kind of spend the night in jail, and not that you wanna be in any of those circumstances, but this was not one of those, I'm gonna get my one phone call, they're gonna come bail me out, I'm gonna be out of here. This was not that. This was something much worse because Roman prisons were often arranged in sections and the inner cell was the deepest, darkest, most secure part of the prison. There would have been no windows. There would have been little to no ventilation in the room. It would have been a damp atmosphere. They would have been isolated from other people, and I don't know where your mind goes when you hear the words that their feet were put in stocks, but my mind immediately went to public humiliation devices, to bindings in public places where people would walk by and they would laugh and they would point fingers at where they found themselves in their lives, but Roman stocks were much worse than this because they were created not to just restrain someone, they were actually created to inflict pain. The feet would be stretched apart into awkward positions and then locked into place, and so the longer that someone remained in the stocks, the greater the strain on their muscles and their ligaments, the greater the cramping and the agony that they would feel. So my point in going into a bit of detail

is to make sure that we understand that this was more than just an inconvenience on this missionary journey. This was more than just a bump in the road, that what they're walking through right now was an awful nightmare, and it's easy to skip over this story and think, oh man, I know the end of the story, it was everything, it was okay. This was not an inconvenience, this was more like torture than it was an inconvenience, and in the middle of what seems to be one of the darkest situations in their life, I wanna show you how Paul and Silas choose to respond, and I think it's a beautiful example to you and I on how we should respond when we find ourselves in circumstances that we never thought we would be in. Look what the scripture says. About midnight, Paul and Silas were in a prison. That's bigger, but it's still the same. Praying and singing hymns to God. You were in the inner prison, it's dark, it's stanky, stock's on your feet, and it's midnight, and you are praying and singing hymns to God, and look what scripture says. I don't know if it's because their voices

were so good or so bad, but the other prisoners were listening to them. I don't know if they're like, man, that's the sound from heaven, or oh dear God, please stop, that's awful. Either way, they were making enough commotion to where the other prisoners that might not have been in the inner cell could hear what was coming from their souls. Today I want to introduce you to what I'm calling the door of worship, the door of worship. And I love how when you read the scriptures, God never ceases to amaze me, especially in a text like this. I've been in church my whole life. I can't tell you how many sermons I've heard preached on this story. I can't tell you how many times I've preached this story. But I love how when you start to study the word of God, how the Lord just brings different things to light, maybe at different seasons of your life and new things just pop off the pages of scripture. And so as I was studying this door in preparation for our time together today, I think the first thing that really stood out to me that I want to share with you today was the fact that they worshiped from the inner cell. Like where and when they chose to worship is mind boggling because in our day and age, if we're not careful, we can find ourselves only worshiping God when he brings us out. That after the breakthrough, after the door opens, then God, I'll give you praise. How many times have you heard yourself saying something, God, if you will just, then I will. God, if you will, if you'll just pull me out, if you'll just make a way where there seems to be no way, then I will. And if we're not careful in 2026 and in Western society, we can find ourselves in this habit of only giving God our best praise when the breakthrough happens. And Paul and Silas are saying what they're teaching you and I is that you better not save your best praise for the breakthrough.

You better give God your best in the middle of life's most difficult circumstances. When it doesn't look like there's a way out, that's the time when you got to open up your heart, open up your mouth, put your hands together. It doesn't matter what it sounds like and give God the honor that he deserves. If all we do is wait, it's easy. When God brings you out, how do you respond when you're in the middle of it? When you're in the middle of a dark, stanky situation, when it's damp in there, when it's nasty, when blood's all over you, so to speak, this is their response. They worshipped at midnight in the inner prison. Can I step on some toes for a second? If you got your toes out in the aisle, pull them back, tuck them back. They were not worshipping from the comfort of a nice church chair with armrests. They weren't worshipping with a cup of coffee in one hand. Oh, man, I didn't put enough sugar in here. They were worshipping with blood dripping down their body. They were worshipping when it would have been an inconvenience to even try to muster up some energy to give God praise. We walk into the house of God, or it doesn't even have to be here, wherever you find yourself alone with God, but we'll use the house of God because we're here. We'll walk in on a Sunday morning, and we'll give the Spurs and the Longhorns our best on a Saturday night. Y'all, this is embarrassing. Don't hold this against me. Last night, Lord forgive me, I don't think I need ... This is not a sin, never mind. I had the Spurs on the TV, and I had the Longhorns on my phone. I was screaming for joy. Was screaming in agony Here's the point we will give things and people that don't even know us or care about us our best and Then and then we'll walk into the house of God on a Sunday morning, and we'll give God our leftovers

We'll go it was all it was a long weekend. I'm here. I'm exhausted Can I just remind you that God's holiness, let me let me say it this way our Worship is not based upon how we feel our worship is based upon the holiness of God and his holiness never Changes he is always worthy of our greatest praise They were worshiping while they were bleeding they were singing while they were hurting Like We we value worship in this place Why because in a day and age that is so self-centered when this world revolves around all of us in? our lives and our thoughts and and my truth when Worship says This ain't about any of us It's a reminder for every single one of us that everything we do is about him That if your life is all about you you're missing the point It will stroll in and we'll give God whatever we feel like on that morning Everything is changing What's funny Again pull your toes back And I I know some of you because I am some of you By the way, this is not just to parents this is to grandparents too I Seen some of y'all You you will go to Sally or Billy's little game They play in t-ball or softball And They make contact with the ball they hit a dribbler down the third baseline You are screaming your head off you're going bananas the truth it wasn't even a hit But you you and then we'll walk into church on a Sunday morning and we'll see somebody with their hands in the air We'll see somebody putting their hands together. But what is wrong with you? No. No, what is wrong with you? Then we will give our best And we'll give God our Leftovers again, I'm not telling you how to worship. I'm just because I hear this a lot. Well pastor Brad

I'm just it's just not my personality. Well, it was yesterday That's what's funny. It's your personality when it's convenient for you And this is the justification that we go through we use that as an excuse because it may not be normal to you That's different, but it's not my but I was with you at the game I was with you at the game. I Know you got it in you All right, we got to keep going So watch what happens in response to their midnight prayer and worship Verse 26 says suddenly by the way, whenever you see suddenly, you know, something good is about to happen lean in Suddenly 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 so we They're in prison Now the prison doors are open Let's be clear. The prison doors were not opened by complaining about how bad their situation was Had we get here Paul, I don't know Silas. Why did God do this to us? I don't know bro. I'm in here, too This is the work and again, I'm not minimizing it, but the prison doors weren't open after they complained They weren't open after they were like how bad is my life and it was bad All I know is that the prison doors flew open in The midnight hour after they gave God their best prayer and their best worship as they opened up their heart to God. The prison doors, it's amazing how God responds to your worship. You know why God responds to your worship? Because your worship is an invitation for the presence of God to envelop a place. Your worship is an invitation to the Spirit of God to say, sit on this place. Walk into this room and do whatever you want to do. Your worship is an invitation that it's not about me, that it's all about you. Have your will and have your way. This is, see, the presence of God, he's not going to force himself on you. Worship is an invitation to say, be in this place, God.

Why do you think we start our time together with worship? We are inviting the presence of God. The presence of God doesn't need permission to show up, but what I found is the presence of God likes to go where he's welcome. You're not going to find the presence of God in places where you're stiff-arming the Holy Spirit. It's amazing how the Spirit of God shows up when worship is lifted to the heavens. This is what we see here. The presence of God showed up and responded to their worship. It's one of the reasons why we're so bold about being a Spirit-filled church. We're not ashamed of it. We're not intimidated by it. It's not something that we try to hide. We understand what happens when the presence of God fills a room. If we're here and you're waiting on my ability to do, you are in trouble. Ask my wife, she knows. But when worship gets going and the word and the anointing is in the house, there is anything is possible when the presence of God is here. When his presence shows up, addictions break and relationships are put back together. This is what happens when the presence of God in our worship is in an invitation, Lord dwell in this house. Be here. That's why you'll never hear us apologize for being passionate in our worship. Those people, that church down there on Westgate, man they are loud, clapping their hands. There's people crying, people hands in the air. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because we know what happens when we invite the presence of God into a room. We're not doing it for hype or for emotion. We know the value of the presence of God. We know that if we just show up to church and we just check a box, that you're going

to go back the same way that you walked in, that nothing will ever change because no human being has the power to change some of the stuff that you're walking through. We need the spirit of God. All right, so let's see what happens. Let me read this verse again and then we'll keep going. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, everyone's chains came loose. The jailer woke up and when he saw the prison doors open, the jailer would be sleeping on the job. Wake up bro. He drew his sword and he was about to hurt himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, do not harm yourself, we are all here. The jailer said, I don't believe you, turn the lights on and let me see. And he rushed in and he felt trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and he asked, sirs, what must I do to be saved? They replied, believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household. Verse 34, the jailer brought them into his house, set a meal before them. He was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God and his whole household. If you're taking notes today, jot this down, worship opens more than just your door. Worship opens more than just your door. Verse 26 said that all of the prison doors flew open and everyone's chains came loose. This is the beauty. of your worship is that your worship affects people connected to you fathers can I talk to you for a second your worship affects your family when your children see you with your hand raised or with your hands clapping together they see you honoring God with your lips it does something to them they look and they say man that's I want to beat whether they ever say it or not they are looking at you sir mamas and daddies your worship matters grandparents your worship matters church member your worship matters to people sitting in a

seat next to you people are looking at you and they're saying man yeah all right Wow think about this for a second some of you are worshiping through hell right now what if I just want you to think I just want you to see the importance of your worship what if your worship is affecting a grandchild that's not even in this world yet or we choose to walk in with our coffee and doughnut again I'm not this is this is humanity that's a good one today sweetheart I want you to understand that God deserves our best all of the time don't fall into the habit don't justify it's been a long weekend no no walk in to the house of God giving God the best that you have to offer because think about this for a second God opened a physical door for Paul and Silas so that the jailer could walk through a spiritual door you never know what other doors you're opening up for people when you choose to walk through the door of worship you don't know what's changing in other people's lives when they look over and they know what you've been going through and in the middle of your hellish situation you got your hands in the air and you're singing God is good there's nobody like the God that I serve the door of worship the door of worship most of us think not most of us but a lot of us think that the the beauty of the story is the the door for Paul and Silas opening up that's beautiful but the real miracle is the jailer and his entire household walked through the door of faith walked in the door of salvation it's amazing what your worship can pave the way for I know it doesn't matter what the person next but but they won't they're gonna stay they know me from work maybe maybe that's the problem maybe you should start acting like you do at church at work maybe it won't be so weird who cares what they think of you we care so much about what people think about and I'm included in this I care too much about what people think of me I love you but I do and I'm just being super transparent I do care and I wish I didn't sometimes and for some it's really easy for you to walk into an environment like this and not care and that's amazing but I know you have your struggles to I know you know that but for others of you it is difficult to walk in because you do care it's what you've known your whole life and I just want to remind us today

that God deserves our best as you walk through the door of worship it's unlocking and it's opening other doors for people that you are not even aware of maybe maybe the doctor's report hasn't changed maybe your prodigal hasn't come home yet maybe your marriage isn't where you want it to be yet maybe the door is still closed will you worship when you don't see a way out. Or have we gotten so spoiled that we will only worship when a breakthrough happens in our life? Would you stand with me all across the room? I think we would miss the mark today if we didn't have a corporate moment of worship. A worship team is getting in place. They're gonna lead us in maybe a minute and a half of worship. And I wonder, I wonder what it would look like, whether you know the words to the song or not, I wonder what it would look like if you just chose to give God what He deserved in this moment. You may be tired, may have been a long weekend, the spurs may have got beat last night, but God's still worthy of the best that we have. Amen? God's still worthy of the best praise that we have. So as our worship team leads us in a moment, would you not worry about who's next to you? Would you realize that this is between you and God? And for the next minute, minute and a half, I'm gonna honor God with everything that I have. Would you do that with us together? Let's worship together for just a moment.