When You Put A Praise On It, Heaven Moves | Russell Evans | City Light Church

Well, it's such an honor to be here, and you know, I get to hang with and preach in the Who's Zoo and the Christian Zoo, and it is a zoo, and I'm telling you, what God is doing here is something special. And I have three favorite churches in America that I preach in, and this would be in it. And I have five favorite churches in the world, and this would be in it. So, you've got amazing leaders, and we thank God for Pastor Jabe and Pastor Shannon, and we thank God for their life, their impartation. He's preaching at Planet Shakers and being a great blessing. And thank you, thank you, thank you for your hunger for the presence of God. You know, people forget our sermons, and sometimes they forget our songs, but they never forget when they encounter God. Church should be a place of encounter, not just information, but impartation. And I preached a sermon last night, which I really felt God gave me, but God woke me up with a different sermon this morning. And the title of my message, sorry for all the people in the back, because I haven't given you anything, but I'll give you the Scripture, Acts 16, 25 and onwards, or Acts 16, 16 to 36, actually, New Living Translation. I know there's multi-talented people in this room. I want to preach you on the title, When You Put a Praise on It, Heaven Moves. When you put a praise on it, heaven moves. How many need heaven to move in your life? That's good. Eighty percent of us. How many need heaven to move in our life? I love this story because it's a really cool story. Paul and Silas, they're bros, they're friends, they're partners, and they're going on their way to pray. What a good thing to do is be on your way to pray. So many Christians don't pray. It boggles my mind how a believer can't pray, doesn't pray. I had to work it out and go, well, God, why don't they pray? And he basically said, they don't need me. Because a Christian who doesn't pray basically says they don't need God. Because prayer is a position of humility. Prayer is a position of intimacy. You know, I hear people say, and it's true theologically, God is everywhere. He's omnipresent. His presence is everywhere, but God manifests His presence. I just don't want to know the God of omnipresence. I want to know the God of manifest presence. And so Paul and Silas understood this. So they're on their way to pray. And the Bible says that they met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. And she earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. She made a lot of money. The words people in the graphics guys, big hand. That was really quick. Thank you. Yes, let's give them a big hand.

You see, we're in Vegas. People love money here. You know, when I'm walking through the hotel, I see people in the casinos or in different places and they love money. They're trying to get money. And money's not a problem if it serves you. Money's a problem if it's your master. And this girl was using a demonic gift for her masters. And by the way, sometimes in life, when people make a deal about something, it's not always about the deal. It's usually about the money. Our politicians go on certain way. It's about the money. Not here, of course, only in Australia. She followed Paul and the rest of us shouting, these men are servants of the most high God. And they've come to tell you how to be saved. My question to you and I is, do people notice that we're servants of the most high God? Or do we just fit in and just become like everybody else? Now, at Planet Shakers, we love being contemporary. Our production's off the chart. I like speaking the language of the day because that's what Jesus did, right? And my kids now have a band called Planet Boom. I don't know if you've ever heard of them, but they're like the youth band of Australia. And they're cool. They rap, hip hop. I love all that. That's amazing because we need to speak the language of the day when Jesus spoke to tax collectors He spoke about money when he spoke to fishermen. He spoke about fish So we need to speak the language of the day and Daniel understood Babylonian and he spoke Babylonian He understood the culture, but he didn't become defiled by the culture. He prophesied into the culture So many times we become like the culture instead of prophesying into the culture Do the culture know, do the world know that you are a servant of the Most High God? It says They've come to tell you how to be saved and this went on day after day and Paul got so, I like this word, exasperated In other words, he was ticked And he turned to the demon within her See some of us get mad at people, stop getting mad at people, get mad at the spirit that's behind them Because if you can see it's the spirit that's behind them, you won't have offense with the person She's going on, these are servants of the Most High God You know, she's on social media. These are servants of the Most High God She's got all these podcasts on these are servants of the Most High God

Went on day after day And he got exasperated, he turned to the demon and he says I command you in the name of Paul No, he doesn't say that I command you in the name of Australia. No, he doesn't say that. He says I can't command you in the name of Jesus Christ To come out of her and instantly It left her You know, you have authority to speak to the demonic world and say get out He is a defeated foe, greater is he that lives in you, you have the authority You know, we go into countries and people say, you know, this is a hard country. I said, no, no, no God is bigger than any heart And watch this, verse 19 Her master's hope of wealth were now shattered. They didn't care about her So many times people talk about issues, but they don't care about the issue. They care about their money And so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities. Another version says magistrates Everyone say magistrates Say little M And the whole city, it says the whole city is in uproar because of these Jews. How many know the devil exaggerates? The only person that's in uproar was the masters and the religious folk. The whole city wasn't in an uproar So many people Get intimidated by everybody saying. I said, well, who's everybody? Of that group of people that feed each other information Everybody isn't saying And so many times we, I want to be like King David. King David was awesome because when he walked out into the battlefield He said, who is this uncircumcised Philistine? In other words, he hadn't been on social media and heard about how big Goliath was and how powerful Goliath was and how intimidated. He didn't get in the discussion of the township. He didn't even know who the dude was The devil's smart. He uses all these spaces to get into our spirits and intimidate us They're teaching customs that are legal for us Romans to practice and a mob Mafia was in the Bible quickly formed against Paul and Silas and the officials ordered them to be stripped beaten with wooden rods They were severely beaten and when they were thrown into prison the jailer

Everyone say the jailer Was ordered to make sure they didn't escape so the jailer put them in the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in stocks So if I if as a Christian you got something to complain about you got something right there. I Was just following Jesus. I was just loving Jesus and I got beaten up for him. I Would have you know, I probably would have been complaining. Oh, this isn't fair But not Paul and Silas Listen what it says around midnight Paul and Silas were Ringing singing hymns to What name put them in jail The name that put them in jail is the name they sang and prayed to in jail. I looked up that word God, it means Supreme Court judge. You see, the magistrates, little m might put you in, it might do things to your life that get you in prison in certain situations, depression, fear, hurts, disappointment. Life has been, you've been treated badly because of people or situations, but you can't let those things that have beaten you and hurt you stop you from putting a praise on it. Now, it says they're singing and the other prisoners were listening. They were listening, they were listening. People, see, people will listen to you when you're in your good times, because, you know, we represent a good God, so they need to see that God is good,

but they also wanna listen to you when times aren't as good. And by the way, if you have an eternal worldview, everything's gonna be good. It says I'm living for eternity, whatever I go through, my mom used to call this world training for reigning. So I'm gonna take this as training for reigning. I don't like being beaten, I don't like being said things about, I don't like to be accused, but I'm training for reigning. And it says suddenly there was a massive earthquake and the prison was shaken to the foundations and all the doors immediately flow up and notice that it didn't destroy the prison, it destroyed the things that held them in prison. Because God never destroys people, He destroys the thing that hold people back. And the Bible says, and the chains fell off every prisoner, every prisoner was set free. And the jailer woke up to the prison doors and they saw they were wide open and he assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. See, when life doesn't go the way you want to, so many people wanna just get out of the pain, get out of what is about to come, but I'm here to tell you there is a God that's bigger than any situation.

And if you put a praise on it, something shifts, right? But Paul shouted at him, stop, don't kill yourself, we are all here. The guy that would have been part of the imprisoning and causing of pain to Paul and Silas, now is about to kill himself and Paul says, stop, don't, no, no, we're here, we're here, we're here, we're here. Watch this, the jailer called for city light. Because the world is looking for somebody to turn the light on. This city is looking for, you might go down the strip and there's a lot of lights, there's a lot of lights, but that's not the lights they're talking about. They want a light that will give them a way in darkness. They want a light that will teach them truth. They want a light that will teach them how to have a good marriage. They want a light that will teach them how to forgive. They want a light that will put a praise on it, even when I'm in a prison. They want a light, this city is looking for a light. Who wants to be that light? The Bible says that we're a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. Watch what happens. And fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and he says,

this is just crazy. They come in, prisoner. Now, serves. The language has changed. Because praise changed the language. What must I do to be saved? They replied, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The very name that got them in prison is the very name they're using to free prison. Along with everyone in your household. Because this is the God we serve. We don't serve a God that just wants to save you. We serve a God of Ephesians 3.20. Now to him who was able to do super abundantly, far over and above, all we dare ask or think infinitely beyond, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, thoughts, hopes or dreams. But imagine, Paul and Silas just complained. There would be no infinitely beyond. beyond. And it says this, and they shared the word of the Lord with him and all who lived in his household. And at the hour of that night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Oh, this is the God we serve. The very one that caused the wounds is now washing their wounds. The ones that inflicted the wounds,

the ones that was a part of the imprisonment is now the ones that are part of the healing. When you put a praise on it, God does something supernatural that turns things around because it's in the spirit, it's not in the flesh. So many of us do things in the flesh and some of us do it in the spirit too. But so many of us react in the flesh. We get hurt, we wanna get people back. We wanna hurt people, flesh. That will keep you in prison, friend. You know, the world says, keep, you know, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the earth and the kingdom of darkness is totally different. Kingdom of world says, look after yourself, live for yourself. Kingdom of God is die to yourself. It's no longer I that lives, but Christ who lives in me. You've got rights. Kingdom of God, no, I've given my rights to the one who's one. And it says, he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized and he brought them into the house and he set a meal before them. This is just a crazy story, seriously. They're on their way to pray and they don't let their situation stop them from praying and stop them from praising.

And now they're eating the meal there and the entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God. Then the city officials freaked out and says, let these men go. You know, there are moments in life when the enemy thinks he's locked you down. There's moments when darkness feels thick, when the walls are closing in and breakthrough feels far off. But I came to tell somebody today, when you put a praise on it, heaven doesn't stay silent. Chains break, doors open, foundations shake because praise is not just a sound, it's a summons to the throne of God. It's a strategy of the battlefield. Come on. Let's walk through the prison of Paul and Silas and see what happens when believers understand the power of praise, because what praise does, as I said, is bring you into God's courtroom. The Bible says, enter his courts with complaints. No, it doesn't. It says, enter his gates with thanksgiving, enter his courts with praise. Hebrews 4, verse 15 and 16 in the Amplified says, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to understand and sympathise and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liabilities to the assault of temptation

but one who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning. Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace, the throne of God's unmerited favour to us sinners, that we may receive mercy for our failures and find grace to help us in good time for every need, appropriate help and well-timed help coming just when we need it. See, when the Bible talks about courts, it's talking about not a hallway or a church foyer, it's talking about a heavenly courtroom or a throne room where the supreme ruler of the universe, God the Father, King of the heavens sits on the throne. And in that courtroom, cases are heard, verdicts are issued, sentences are overturned and injustices are corrected. And it's the praise and the blood of Jesus is your key to get in. Paul and Silas weren't appealing to the local magistrates, they weren't begging Rome, they knew who to call on. They use praise as their legal access to the highest court in heaven. They didn't start praising after the chains fell off. So many of us praise God when it all happens and we see the miracle. They started praising before the miracle because they understood that praise activates divine authority. When you put a praise on it.

You just don't speak into the atmosphere, you step into the courtroom of the Almighty. I was born in Papua New Guinea. You say you don't look Papuan. I was born there, my parents were missionaries. My mum got sick with hepatitis and she was in this annex of a hospital. The hospitals weren't that great. I went to the hospital I was born in. It was in a place called Wee Whack. What a name, Wee Whack. Must be when you're naughty they whacked you or something. I don't know, a wee person whacked them. I don't know. The night I was born there was a hundred and twenty seven earth tremors. My mum's voice was either really loud but I say what I was born in the natural, I was born in the supernatural. I was born a planet shaker and I was born again a planet shaker. So my mum is is there and in the middle of the night a snake comes in her room. She's already sick, in comes a snake and so she screams and my dad was the original crocodile hunter. He comes in in his khakis, khaki outfit, you know khaki short, khaki, you know, you call them khaki, you call them khaki. Khaki, khaki, you got a different name, khaki, khaki. First time I came to America I was on the plane and I said can I have a water? Lady looks at me, sorry? Can I have a water? Sorry? I said, oh sorry, can I have a water? She goes, why didn't you say so? I said I have been but anyway. Khaki, that is khaki. Khaki. Praise God, glory to God, there it is. My, my, my, what the glory is here. Anyway.

The plane's coming up for me. So he comes in, he grabs the snake, kills it. Pretty amazing. But my mum had a nervous breakdown. We had to leave Papua New Guinea. She was put in a mental hospital. My dad said she was so bad in the parking lot, he would hear her screaming. Now you need to understand my mum, my mum is a strong person. She, she believed in the word, she was good on the word. We had scriptures everywhere with the word. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord everywhere. In my bedroom, children obey your parents. We even had a stick, spare the rod, spoil the child. I thought one day I'd try the word on her, because there's this part of me that's like, because there's this part of scripture where Mary comes to Jesus and says, they've run out of wine, first miracle, and he says, woman, my time has not yet come. So I try to use that scripture on my mum. Russell, clean up your room. Woman, my time has not yet come. So my mum's there and she's in a bad way. I'm two, my brother's five or six. And my dad's mowing lawns. And God says, go take a church in Adelaide, Australia. And he goes, and my wife, she got a little bit better. So we moved to Adelaide and, but she had a relapse. She had heavy, heavy depression. I'm talking depression so much that she wanted to inflict pain on my brother, because he was naughty. I was like an angel, never want to inflict pain on me. But it was, that was a joke, by the way.

And so she went back into hospital. She had prayer. She had all this thing and prayer is powerful. She kept praying, kept praying, kept believing. She read the word, somebody tried to pray for her to get set. Nothing seemed to work. And then she read this book from prison to praise. And, and God said, put a praise on her. She said, well, how can I put a praise on her? I can't praise you for this. This is horrible. He said, praise me in all things. Psalm 134 says that we're to praise continually. Doesn't say when you feel like it, it says praise continually. And I was talking to a friend of mine who was with a pastor the other day. And he goes, when you're with him, he's just singing under his breath. And he goes, and they're talking and they were talking and then he starts singing again. And he goes, what are you doing? He's an elder. guy and he says well if I stop singing another sound will come so I'm not gonna let the devil put another sound in my space. Phillies my mum's there all right I'm gonna praise so she'd get up she was heavy depression I praise you I don't but you're good I lift your name notice the Lord's prayer doesn't start with my problem here on earth starts with my father then you deal with the problems give us this day our daily bread but you start with our father and she said for ten minutes it was like chewing glass but then after ten minutes it would lift because God gives you the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness there and it would lift inches like oh this is amazing but the problem is it came back the next day so many people have their breakthroughs and they think I've got a breakthrough but sometimes you this type

of things you know some of these demonic realms that there is actually levels in the demonic realm and so she got up the next morning I praise you God it was a little harder this day because she's a bit disappointed it came back she had to overcome disappointment and depression but she prays it lifted praise again lifted she did this for 12 months then she was in a meeting like this is it and a preacher says the Holy Spirit is he a cat and the whole people fall under the power of God my mum's at the bottom of the pile but she's so hit with the power of God she's driving home like she's drunk for three days she shakes under the power of God she got totally set free but she didn't stop praising and alive now she was free when I was going through a challenging time I'd hear my mum God I praise you for my son I think you're gonna use him greatly I think you're gonna use him powerfully I think you're gonna pour out your spirit no plan to shake is known for all around the world is our praise where did we learn it from my mum you see you're gonna put a praise on it because you step in when you go with praise you go into the authority of heaven heaven's throne room where the Supreme Court judge can overrule what the enemy is tried and meant for evil and in the children of Israel praise the to the tribe of Judah was sent first in the battle you see when you go in a battle you gotta send praise Judah means praise and God says when it's time to fight don't put the strongest tribe first Judah wasn't the strongest don't send the biggest army send Judah send praise why because whatever praise goes God shows up whatever praise leads victory is announced before a sword is even drawn praise shifts the atmosphere confuses the enemy praise tells every demon in hell we're not fighting this alone God is going before us Paul and Silas weren't singing to feel better they weren't trying to pass the time they were sending Judah into battle they didn't sing after they got free they sang their way into freedom some of us are waiting to praise after the breakthrough but faith says I'll pray until it breaks through put a praise on it thank you band you know there's a young lady name was Amanda and at 33 years of age she was rushed to hospital and we're gonna do all my life you have

been faithful song can we thanks he's like yeah yeah what she suddenly collapsed at home and her heart stopped multiple times doctor told the husband prepare for the worst we don't expect her to wake up family members gathered in the icy see you I see you room devastated but Amanda's sister a worship leader refused to let the room be filled with fear she walked to the corner of the room and she lifted her hands and says I will sing of the goodness of God because my life, you have been faithful. A nurse later said, we thought she was breaking down, but really what she was doing, she was breaking something open. Within minutes, family members joined and the atmosphere shifted. What felt like a funeral turned into a worship meeting. Here's the part that stunned the staff. As they prayed, praise, Amanda's heart stabilised. As they praised, her brain activity increased. As they praised, she opened her eyes. As they praised, she squeezed her husband's hand. The doctor says, we cannot medically explain the turnaround, something happened in that room. Amanda later said, after waking, I don't remember anything, but I remember a sound. I heard a phrase and I followed that sound back to life. She walked out of the hospital two weeks later, fully healed with no brain damage, no long-term effects and every doctor acknowledging the recovery was far beyond expected outcomes. Praise is your courtroom access and your battlefield advance.

That's why praise is more than a song, it's a legal right and a battle strategy. Praise is how you enter the presence of God, overturn earthly rulings, break demonic chains, shake spiritual foundations, silence the accuser, shift your situation, win the battle before it starts. That's what Paul and Silas did. Heaven responded, the jails shook, the doors opened and salvation came to that prison, all because two men chose to put a praise on it. Praise brings you into God's courts. Praise brings God into your battles and no prison can hold a believer who knows the power of praise. So wherever you are, you need a breakthrough. Praise before the breakthrough. Your family need a breakthrough. Praise for that breakthrough in your family. Put a praise on it. Your finance need a breakthrough. Put a praise on it. Come on, let's sing with everything we've got. From the top to the bottom, lift holy hands all my life. All my life you have been faithful. And all my life you have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of your love. Your goodness is falling after me. Your goodness is running after,

it's running after me, Lord. Your goodness is running after, it's running after me. With my life laid down, I surrender now, I give you everything, oh. Your goodness is running after, it's running after me. The Bible says that God prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. What's our enemies? Fear, sicknesses, never people, depression, loneliness. And God says, I prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies. I anoint your head with oil, your cup overflows. Then it talks about surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life as I dwell in the house of the Lord. The house of the Lord is the house of praise. The house of the Lord is the house of prayer. So you want surely goodness and mercy? Pursue God and praise Him. If you want surely goodness and mercy to run after you, say, God, I'm gonna chase after you like never before with my family. I'm gonna put you first, I'm gonna put you first in everything because you are good. You see so many people chase after surely goodness and mercy,

but if we pursue God and we praise God, surely goodness and mercy follows us. Your goodness is running. Your goodness. Amen. Sing it again, your goodness. ♪ It's running after me Jesus ♪ ♪ Your goodness is running after me ♪ ♪ It's running after me ♪ ♪ As my life leads up I surrender no I give you all I am ♪ ♪ Your goodness is running after me ♪ ♪ It's running after me yeah ♪ ♪ Your goodness is running after me ♪ ♪ It's running after me yes Lord ♪ ♪ Your goodness is running after me ♪ ♪ It's running after me ♪ ♪ When my life leads up I surrender no I give you all I am ♪ ♪ Your goodness is running after me ♪ ♪ It's running after me ♪