Removing Roadblocks to God's Power: Confess, Heal, Praise

Aug 23, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Kill Switch Blocking God’s Current

A trailer’s powerless appliances mirror spiritual stagnation. Hidden switches disrupt energy flow just as unaddressed sin stifles divine connection. When frustration mounts over unanswered prayers or stale faith, the issue often lies in overlooked barriers. Like the RV’s kill switch, unconfessed sin quietly chokes spiritual vitality. Freedom comes not through effort but by flipping the switch of repentance. [01:09:51]

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(1 John 1:9, ESV)

Reflection: What “kill switch” have you ignored in your walk with God? How might naming that hidden struggle today restore your connection to His power?

Day 2: When Bitterness Becomes Your Binoculars

Unprocessed pain warps vision like smudged lenses. Resentment toward God or others reframes His character as distant or uncaring. The psalmist’s cry—“How long will you forget me?”—reveals how hurt distorts reality. Just as Asaph regained clarity by releasing envy, we realign our sight through raw honesty before God. Healing begins when we trade bitterness for surrendered tears. [01:24:22]

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.
(Hebrews 12:15, ESV)

Reflection: Where has pain skewed your view of God’s heart? What one step could you take this week to exchange bitterness for trust?

Day 3: Chains Clanging to the Rhythm of Praise

Paul and Silas worshipped while shackled, their praise shaking prison foundations. Authentic adoration in darkness declares God’s worthiness beyond circumstances. Like revving a truck to charge dead batteries, persistent praise jumpstarts spiritual breakthroughs. True worship isn’t a response to victory—it’s the battle cry that precedes it. [01:38:52]

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken.
(Acts 16:25-26, ESV)

Reflection: What “prison” have you let silence your praise? How can you intentionally worship God today despite unanswered questions?

Day 4: The Freedom of Naming Your Hidden Things

Buried sins grow like mold in damp trailers. The man who hid his RV struggles until help arrived mirrors our need for humble confession. Psalm 32’s relief—“Blessed is the one whose sin is covered”—comes through exposure, not secrecy. Spiritual liberation begins when we drag secrets into Christ’s light. [01:15:27]

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
(Psalm 32:1-2, ESV)

Reflection: What shame have you sealed in darkness? How might speaking it to Christ today release you from its weight?

Day 5: Suddenlies Happen When Hands Stay Lifted

The trailer crowd’s applause after breakthrough mirrors heaven’s response to persevering faith. “Suddenly” miracles in Acts follow stubborn praise. Like revving an engine to charge dead batteries, persistent worship generates spiritual voltage. Todah—praise for victories unseen—creates space for God to shake foundations. [01:40:29]

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
(Psalm 91:1-2, ESV)

Reflection: What “suddenly” are you waiting for? How can lifting praise today position you to witness God’s unexpected intervention?

Sermon Summary

The question “Where’s the power?” anchors the whole call. The trailer story gives the picture: the microwave was fine, the lights were fine, the trailer was built to work, but one little kill switch blocked the power from flowing freely. God’s power is not the problem. “God’s spirit is not scarce. Heaven is not silent.” The problem is often the readiness of God’s people and the roadblocks left sitting in the way.

Psalm 24 asks the sober question: “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?” The answer is not charisma, platform, size, or success. The answer is clean hands, pure hearts, healed souls, and surrendered praise. God is willing to pour out his Spirit, but the church must clear the pathway where sin, pain, and withheld worship have become spiritual kill switches.

Unconfessed sin becomes the first roadblock. Sin is not brought into the light so God can shame people, but so he can restore them. The small lie, the hidden lust, the jealousy, the bitterness, the cheating, the gossip, or the private compromise can grow into a barrier that disrupts fellowship with God. Psalm 66 warns that cherished sin affects prayer. God has not moved away, like the old man in the truck who says, “I haven’t moved.” Sin dulls the awareness of his nearness.

Unconfessed sin also hardens the heart. What once brought conviction can begin to feel normal when it is repeated and excused. First John 1 gives the good news: confession is not humiliation, it is liberation. Repentance is not rejection, it is restoration.

Unprocessed pain becomes the second roadblock. Hurt, offense, grief, jealousy, church wounds, and anger toward God can become a poisonous root of bitterness. Psalm 13 gives language to the ache of feeling forgotten. Psalm 73 shows Asaph looking around at the wicked and becoming angry, until God’s presence clears his vision again. Pain that is buried distorts God’s face, but pain laid at his feet opens the heart to comfort.

Unoffered praise becomes the third roadblock. Praise is not a warm up. Praise is a weapon. Romans 1 warns that withheld glory darkens the heart. Acts 16 shows Paul and Silas singing before the chains fall off, not after. Todah praise lifts the hand in thanksgiving for things not yet received. God’s people clear space for fresh fire by confessing sin, surrendering pain, and releasing the praise God deserves.

Key Takeaways

1. Hidden sin blocks holy intimacy. [01:17:02] Unconfessed sin does not cancel belonging to God, but it strains fellowship with him. The hidden thing becomes a spiritual obstruction, making prayer feel unanswered and worship feel heavy. God has not moved away, but sin can dull the heart’s awareness of his nearness. [77:02]
2. Confession is liberation, not humiliation. [01:21:42] Confession is not God dragging shame into the open for punishment. Confession is God inviting the heart back into freedom, clarity, and restored fellowship. The sin that festers in darkness loses its power when it is brought honestly before the faithful and just God. [81:42]
3. Unprocessed pain distorts God’s face. [01:24:08] Bitterness can make a loving Father seem distant, unjust, or uncaring. The wound becomes a lens, and the soul starts interpreting God through hurt rather than truth. Pain laid at God’s feet does not deny the wound, but it refuses to let the wound define God. [84:08]
4. Praise connects people to power. [01:36:14] Praise does not create God’s power, because God is already powerful. Praise opens the heart to the power that is already available in him. When worship is offered in heaviness, hope is rekindled and the spiritual atmosphere begins to shift. [96:14]
5. Todah praises before receiving. [01:40:29] Todah praise extends the hand in thanksgiving for what has not yet been received. Paul and Silas sang in the prison before the earthquake came and before the chains fell off. This kind of praise honors God’s worth, not merely God’s gifts. [100:29]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[58:24] - Greetings and Honor for the Landing
[59:12] - Becoming Trailer People
[61:20] - The First Campsite Disaster
[65:14] - Finding the Kill Switch
[66:54] - Where’s the Power?
[69:05] - The Readiness Problem
[71:22] - Clean Hands and Pure Hearts
[72:53] - Roadblock One: Unconfessed Sin
[80:29] - Sin Hardens the Heart
[82:09] - Roadblock Two: Unprocessed Pain
[86:44] - Asaph and Distorted Vision
[93:06] - Roadblock Three: Unoffered Praise
[97:05] - Paul and Silas Praise in Prison
[100:29] - Todah: Praise Before Receiving

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Psalm 24:3-4
“Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.” [01:11:22]

Psalm 66:18
“If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” [01:17:02]

1 John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [01:21:42]

Acts 16:25-26
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened.” [01:37:05]

Romans 1:21
“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Hebrews 12:15
“See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no 'root of bitterness' springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;”

Observation questions

In Psalm 24:3-4, what qualities are named as fitting for someone who would stand in God’s holy place, and what kinds of falsehood are also rejected? [01:11:22]
What were some specific examples of hidden or cherished sin that can quietly become a barrier in a person’s life? [01:14:11]
According to Hebrews 12:15 and the teaching around it, what does bitterness do when it is allowed to grow unchecked? [01:23:17]
In Acts 16:25-26, what were Paul and Silas doing before the earthquake came, and what happened after they praised God? [01:39:33]

Interpretation questions

Psalm 66:18 says cherished sin affects prayer. What does it mean to cherish sin rather than merely stumble into sin, and why does that matter in a relationship with God? [01:17:02]
First John 1:9 presents confession as a path to cleansing. Why is confession better understood as freedom and restoration rather than shame and rejection? [01:21:42]
Hebrews 12:15 warns about a root of bitterness. How can pain that is never brought to God begin to distort the way a person sees God, the church, and other people? [01:24:08]
Acts 16 shows praise happening before deliverance. What does that reveal about the kind of praise God desires, especially when circumstances have not changed yet? [01:40:29]

Application questions

Hidden sin can become a kill switch in the soul. Is there any pattern, habit, or compromise that has been kept in the dark and needs to be honestly confessed before God? [01:13:16]
Sin can slowly harden the heart until what once felt wrong starts to feel normal. Where has sensitivity to conviction grown dull, and what would repentance look like this week? [01:20:29]
Pain that is buried often turns into bitterness. Is there a wound, disappointment, church hurt, or anger toward God that still shapes the way life is being seen right now? What would it mean to lay that pain at his feet instead of carrying it alone? [01:26:39]
Some people are not running to God with their pain but away from him. When suffering or confusion shows up, what is the usual instinct: withdrawal, numbness, anger, distraction, or honest prayer? [01:32:03]
Praise is not just for easy days. What tends to hold praise back most: pride, distraction, disappointment, tiredness, or something else? [01:33:32]
Paul and Silas praised God before the chains fell off. What would “praise before receiving” look like in one real area of life right now? [01:39:33]
God’s Spirit is not scarce, but roadblocks often need to be cleared. Which of these feels most urgent right now: confessing sin, surrendering pain, or offering praise? Why that one? [01:41:33]

Sermon Clips

59s

#MoveOfTheSpirit

“God's spirit is not scarce. Heaven is not silent. The problem is rarely God's willingness to pour out his spirit. The problem is often our readiness. And that's a hard lesson sometimes for us to learn. We might look around, we might think, well, it seems like everything's okay. It seems like things are going good. Church is alright. But I believe that we're coming into an era in our culture and our time now than more than so much time before us that we need to see a move of God's spirit in miraculous and powerful ways like we have not seen in our generation. It is so needed in our culture today. It is so needed, the moving of the holy spirit, to do the miraculous, to change lives. It's not just enough to have church and it's nice. We need church that shows the world the power, the authority, and the presence of who god is.”

62s

#PraiseInAdvance

“Folks, I gotta tell you today, they praised because they knew what God has done in the past and what he could do even though in that moment he hadn't done it yet. And I believe that there's a lesson here for us to offer our praise to God in spite of our circumstances, in spite of our feelings, in spite of our hurt. We were created to lift up praise. It is a posture of humility and reverence and honor to God. There are so many Hebrew words throughout the Bible that describe praise and worship. My favorite is the word Todah. Todah. Because it means an extension of the hand. Thanksgiving for things not yet received. That's what we're supposed to do. And when you and I pour out our praise, he has a free path to pour out his presence in our lives.”

46s

#ConfessForFreedom

“What a great promise. What a great truth that is. Confessing your sin to the Lord, repenting of those sins is not humiliation. That's not how God designed it. It's liberation. Confessing your sin to the Lord and not allowing it to grow, harden your heart, and separate you from the Lord is not rejection. It's restoration. The dangerous effects of unconfessed sin are so real, folks. But the restoring power of confessed sin is greater. What an incredible truth and promise. Let me tell you the second thing that I think is a roadblock to seeing god's power move. Unprocessed pain. Unprocessed hurt and pain in our lives.”

40s

#WorshipIsWeapon

“Praise is not just a warm up that we should do on Sunday morning before we get to his word. Praise is a weapon. Worship worship worship team's all excited about that. But we need to understand that, how powerful it is. It's not optional. It's essential. And it's key that even in the midst of our pain and our hurt at times, that we actually offer up praise to God in those dark moments. If we want God's power to move in our lives, if we wanna be set free, if we wanna see revival happen and lives change, we cannot become stagnant in offering the praise that he deserves.”

64s

#ConfessDontHide

“For a lot of people, we forget that. And we think to ourselves, it's like, well, nobody needs to know about this little thing or this little mistake. This little bit of jealousy or this little lie, this little bit of envy or this little bit of cheating, this moment of lust or this bad decision I made, no one else needs to know about it. And for what happens is often, we hide these things. We think nobody understands and nobody knows, so if we just keep it quiet, we don't even need to tell god about it. Can I tell you today, god knows? Like, if you didn't know that, he does. But this is the beautiful part about god. That unconfessed sin that you think nobody knows about that you might be hanging on to might be the very thing that's actually putting up a barrier between you experiencing God's love and power in abundance in your life. But God doesn't expose our sin or ask us to confess it to crush us. He does it to help restore us.”

66s

#PraiseConnectsPower

“Praise doesn't create God's power. Hear that this morning. Praise doesn't create God's power, but it connects us to it. Now you might say this morning, but, Mark, you're you're you're new. You're a guest here. K? You don't know what's going on. I have such a hard time worshiping, praising god because I'm going through stuff, some hard stuff, some difficult stuff. Folks, I gotta tell you this today. After being a pastor for almost thirty eight years, there is always hard stuff. There is always difficult situations. Christ came to give us life abundantly, but he also said that life would not be easy. And over and over, we look through the old and the new testament, and we see these stories and promises that tell us that people walking through difficult times, when they began to set aside that hurt and that pain and worship and praise God, God did something miraculous for them.”

58s

#RepentToReconnect

“There's a warning here that says, if we hang on to these things and don't confess and don't repent, that sin that's hidden or excused or covered up can grow, and it can actually separate us from God's relationship that we have. It creates a distance between you and God. And what starts to happen is we start to think God is abandoning us. We start to wonder why our prayers aren't being answered, why we're not loving our worship times. And all of a sudden, we're thinking, why is God far away from me? And yet, all the while, it's us that have put something in between our relationship with him and God. It interferes with our intimacy. When your prayers don't get answered, when your worship feels heavy, when life seems darker, it could be that very thing that you have not repented of. It is between you and God, and it's holding back God's power in your life.”

55s

#ClearTheBlockage

“And I think just like that weird little kill switch on my trailer, that thing was in the way holding back the power. And the moment it was opened up and moved out of the way, the power flowed freely. And I believe today, folks, when I have traveled through our province and talked to our pastors and seen our families, that there are certain things, some simple yet powerful things that are actually holding back god's power in our midst today. And I know we wanna see it happen, but I think we need to be have a bit of a reality check and be honest with ourselves and say, are there things that are in the way that are blocking god's power from moving in my life? Even when we look back in acts two, we see that there was repentance, that there was waiting, that there was unity, that there was obedience in the people's lives before God's power moved. Can I can I tell you a truth this morning?”

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