Pastor Keion Henderson began his last session at WAFBEC 2022 reading from Acts 16:16- 28. He explained that the session was not a sermon, because he had used his other sessions to preach, but a command from God. “The next time you find yourself in trouble shout until it shakes”, he said.
In breaking down Paul and Silas encounter with a girl with the spirit of divination, Pastor Henderson said in Greek mythology, divination comes from the word ‘pytho’ which means dragon, and is the origin for the name of the snake- python. He said the girl had the spirit of a phyton.
Pastor Henderson explained that phytons are constrictors. They kill their prey by slowly wrapping themselves around their prey to squeeze the life out of them. “So, I want to tell you how to deal with the snakes in your life. She wanted Paul and Silas to go to jail for doing what God said. There is a punishment for being obedient.” Said Pastor Henderson.
He told the congregation that prayer and worship were the best response because they always made the devil nervous, so whenever you pray you become the prey of the devil, that is why you experience so many distractions during prayer time.
“How long will it take before you attack the devil back instead of waiting for him to distract you?”, he asked. He reminded the congregation that every time Christians fight something big in their life, it was because they didn’t deal with it when it was small. “When you shout, it begins to shake. The enemy is coming in like a flood, but you raise a standard through praise and worship. Shout until it shakes!” Pastor Henderson said in a loud voice.
Then he explained how to defeat the spirit of constriction caused by the enemy, by advising that it is important to be still long enough until the snake recognizes that you are too big for him to eat. When he recognizes, he will relax, and then that is when you break his jaw with praise and worship. “The devil has tried to constrict you but praise is a weapon, the devil expects you to quit and give in. Take worship and aim it at the devil.” He said.
Pastor Henderson also revealed that Paul and Silas did not get out of prison because they had keys. They opened the prison because they were on the right musical keys. According to Pastor Henderson, a Christian’s shout can save someone’s life. Paul’s shout at the prison guard who wanted to kill himself saved his life. He thought Paul and Silas had escaped.
In rounding off his message he pointed out that the guard cleaned the wounds of Paul and Silas, and prophesied that God is going to use the abusers of people to elevate them. “How you act in times of trouble is evangelism, how you behave in your prison is sharing the Gospel. Everything the enemy desired for your destruction, God is about to use it for your development.”
