• Do you have problems? Join the club!
• Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. James 1:2,3 The Living Bible (TLB)
• So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is rough for a while down here. I Peter 1:6 (TLB)
• Yes, and those who decide to please Christ Jesus by living godly lives will suffer at the hands of those who hate him. II Timothy 3:12 (TLB)
• The good man does not escape all troubles ¡V he has them too. But the Lord helps him in each and every one. Psalm 34:19 (TLB)
• Trials, Test, Tribulations are a part of life

The ROAR of the Trial

• The slave girl was a prisoner to an evil spirit and men as a slave
• The enemy wants everyone to be bound up in some type of bondage (prison)
• It can be physical, mental, emotional or spiritual bondage
• Symptoms can be no love, no joy, no peace, no faith, no freedom, no hope
• Ultimate goal is a dead spiritual life, no salvation, destroyed life
• Satan tried to distract Paul and Silas on the way to prayer (doing God¡¦s work)
• Paul and Silas cast out the evil spirit in the name of JESUS!
• This passage reminds us of Peter¡¦s description of Satan as a roaring lion

I Peter 5:8 ¡V 11

• Be careful ¡V watch out for attacks from Satan, your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart.
• Stand firm when he attacks. Trust the Lord; and remember that other Christians all around the world are going through these sufferings too.
• After you have suffered a little while, our God, who is full of kindness through Christ, will give you his eternal glory. He personally will come and pick you up, and set you firmly in place, and make you stronger than ever.
• To him be all power over all things, forever and ever. Amen.

The ROAR of the Trial

• Look at how the Roar of Satan, through evil men try to stop Paul and Silas
• Drawn into the market place (19)
• Brought before the city officials (20)
• Accused of wrongdoing (21)
• Stripped of clothes & dignity (22)
• Beaten with many stripes (23)
• Cast into the inner prison (23)
• Feet bound in stocks (24)
• We have problems, trials¡KROAR of circumstances
• Sickness, money, school, home, work, family, French, etc.
• Painful, Uncomfortable, Tiring, Stressful, Irritable
• They try to make you lose focus
• Take your eyes off our Lord, Savior, All-Powerful, All-Loving, All-Seeing, All-Wise, Everywhere-Present God
• Put your eyes on your problems, your weaknesses to cut you off from God ¡V our source of life

The REACTION to the Trial

• Paul and Silas:
• PRAYED (v25)
• When we are in a trial, we should talk to God more, not less
• Prayer is our life line, our access to God, use it!
• PRAISED (v25)
• They could have been thanking God to be counted worthy to suffer for His name
• In spite of their circumstances and how they felt they praised God
• PATIENTLY waited
• They did not lose their wits, their cool, nor their godliness
• They STAND FIRM on the PROMISES of God
• God:
• Sent an earthquake (v26)
• Loosed everyone's bands (v26)
• Jailer
• Tried to commit suicide (v27)
• Compare the reaction of the godly Paul and Silas to the Jailer
• Panicked, and tried to Punish himself
• The one who was a prison keeper found he was a prisoner of sin himself

The REWARD from the Trial

• God opened the heart of the Jailer to reflect¡K
• The jailer was saved (30, 31)
• and his family (v32) and they were baptized (v33)
• His faith is demonstrated by works
• he washed the stripes of Paul and Silas (33)
• He fed and received them in his house (34)
• He rejoiced (34)
• New brothers and sisters to the family of God
• Testimony to encourage others
• Deliverance from prison
• Increased faith in God

You have two REACTIONS available

• You can REACT to your circumstances -
• As a Victim (you can change from this right now!)
• God doesn't love me (LIE)
• I will never make it out of this situation (LIE)
• Your Response will be:
• Run from the roaring lion
• This is as far as I will go (LIE)
• I am defeated¡KI will never be happy again (LIE)
• Or Victorious (you can become this right now!)
• God loves me more than I can imagine!
• God will deliver me, just as His Word says!
• Your Response will be
• Stand firm against the lion
• I can be thankful in advance of God's deliverance!
• I can smile in the midst of painful circumstances!
• All things are going to work out for good!
• If God is for me, who can stand against me!
• Which will you choose for your life?

The Way to Handle Trials

• How did Paul and Silas survive? How can you?
• PRAY
• PRAISE
• PATIENTLY WAIT
• STAND FIRM on the PROMISES of God

Paul and Silas -Christians in Triumph

• Paul and Silas were doing the will of God
• In seeking freedom for the slave-girl, they became bound themselves
• Their responses were victorious and not as a victim
• They allowed God to work in their circumstances with grace
• God is all: Seeing, Knowing, Present, Powerful, Loving
• God worked in Paul and Silas¡¦ imprisonment to work a miracle of an earthquake and the salvation of the Jailer and his family
• Paul and Silas were Prayerful, Praising, Patient and STANDING FIRM on God's Promises
• If we follow Paul and Silas¡¦ example, it can change the way we look at life
• Trials will always be present, but our response to them can be victorious
• If we follow Paul and Silas¡¦ example, we will see RESULTS from God as well!//