At Midnight

At Midnight

Psalm 30:5 ESV

5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Psalm 134 ESV

A Song of Ascents. 1 Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord! 2 Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord! 3 May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who made heaven and earth!

Acts 16:16–34 ESV

16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour. 19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 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. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

The story I want to take you to is in the book of Acts.

Now the book of Acts talks about a lot about Jesus, but it also talks about the life of those twelve men that He left here after He had gone back to heaven.

That’s why it’s called the Book of Acts, because it talks about how the Apostles acted when Jesus had left them.

The Book of Acts talked about how they walked and the lives that they lived.

It is in this book that we find records of persecution that children of God had to endure all because of Jesus Christ.

It is sad to say that when try to give God your all, Satan is going to send somebody to persecute you.

Somebody is going to try to bring you down.

There are some folk who don’t want to see you grow spiritually.

They will do all they can to try hinder God’s purpose and plan in your life.

They want to stop God from doing anything for you, and most definitely want to stop God from working through you.

So what Satan will do will bring moments in your life that look so bad that you will want to give up.

I call those Midnight Moments.

Talk about black Friday for a bit or Midnight Madness.

Turn and tell somebody, Don’t Give up at Midnight. Hold on At Midnight!

Our text today is centered on the word midnight.

Midnight is not one word, but it is the combination of two words, mid and night.

If we analyze each piece of this word midnight, we will find that the first part of the word midnight is mid.

The word mid is a short way of saying middle.

According to the dictionary, it is that which lies in the center of things.

Not too far to the left and not too far to the right, but somewhere in the center.

Well, the dictionary defines the word night as a period of darkness.

A period when darkness covers the land.

A time when it is hard for us to see things that are around us.

Now if you put mid and night together with mid meaning the middle and night meaning a period of darkness, it means in the center of darkness.

Mothers began to worry about where their children are when they have messed up and stayed out past midnight.

A lot of pacing the floor and a lot of restless hours come when they stay out past midnight.

Not only that, but husbands and wives have a whole lot of explaining to do when they go out and mess up and stay out past midnight.

Midnight is the point where PM ends and AM begins.

Midnight is the dividing wall between PM and AM.

The darkest hours in the life of a child of God are their midnights.

Life has a way of making us get acquainted with many forms of midnights.

Midnight represents trouble in the life of someone.

Midnights can come in many shapes, forms and fashions.

Midnight is when you walk out of the doctor’s office and you hear him tell you, I’ve done all that I can and you have a sickness where there is no cure and it’s just a matter of time before you leave here.

And it goes through your mind and you’re wondering, why me?

That’s a midnight.

Midnight is when you stand at the bedside as you watch someone you love so dear leave this world.

Midnight is when you stand by the graveside of a loved one and watch the dearest person to you be lowered down in a grave.

Midnight is when a child you love so dear and raised in the house of God turns their back on God.

Midnight is when a husband or wife decides they don’t love each other anymore.

Midnight is when you have done your best in the service of the Lord.

When you have given your best to the Lord’s program.

When you have sacrificed and when you didn’t feel like going and folk laughed and made fun of you and say that you’ve done nothing at all.

You go home and you’re so hurt, you say you’re not going back no more.

You’re so hurt, you’re hungry, but you can’t eat.

You’re thirsty, but you don’t want anything to drink.

You’re so weak that you want to lie down, but you can’t lie down.

You don’t feel like standing up and you don’t know what to do.

That’s a midnight.

THIS MESSAGE SHOULD RELATE TO EVERYBODY IN HERE TODAY (BECAUSE EVERYBODY IN HERE THIS MORNING…) IS EITHER IN A MIDNIGHT EXPERIENCE RIGHT NOW!

OR

YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY OUT OF A MIDNIGHT SITUATION!

OR YOU ARE HEADING INTO MIDNIGHT!

THE FACT IS…WE ALL HAVE TO FACE MIDNIGHT!

MIDNIGHT IS WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF IN A SITUATION – THAT’S WAY BEYOND YOUR CONTROL!

MIDNIGHT IS WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF CAUGHT UP IN SOMETHING – THAT YOU CANNOT HANDLE ON YOUR OWN!

BE IT SICKNESS – SUFFERING – OR SORROW! BE IT TROUBLES – TRIALS – OR TRIBULATIONS (WE WILL ALL HAVE OUR MIDNIGHT SITUATIONS…)

I wonder today what are you going to do AT MIDNIGHT?

When the clock strikes twelve in your life what are you going to do AT MIDNIGHT?

PAUL & SILAS WERE CALLED BY GOD – TO TAKE THE GOSPEL INTO THE REGION OF MACEDONIA (BUT WHEN THEY ARRIVED…) THEY WERE MET WITH OPPOSITION!

IF YOU GO BACK AND READ THE 16TH CHAPTER OF ACTS – YOU’LL DISCOVER THAT PAUL HAS A VISION AT TROAS.

THIS VISION INVOLVED A ‘MAN FROM MACEDONIA’ CRYING, “COME OVER INTO MACEDONIA AND HELP US.”

(AND SO…) THERE’S A CONNECTION – BETWEEN PAUL’S VISION IN TROAS – AND HIS VISIT TO PHILIPPI. (OR I GUESS I COULD SAY IT LIKE THIS…) THERE IS A CONNECTION BETWEEN HIS VISION…AND HIS VISIT!

NO SOONER THAN THEY ARRIVE IN MACEDONIA – THERE WAS A WOMAN BY THE NAME OF LYDIA WHO WAS CONVERTED!

THE BIBLE SAYS THAT THIS YOUNG GIRL BEGINS TO FOLLOW PAUL AND SILAS – EVERYDAY, AS THEY MADE THEIR WAY TO THE HOUSE OF PRAYER!

NOW, LUKE SAYS THAT SHE WAS A FORTUNE-TELLER! BUT HERE SHE IS FOLLOWING PAUL AND SILAS DAILY – SAYING, “THESE TWO MEN ARE SERVANTS OF THE MOST HIGH GOD!”

(THIS YOUNG LADY HAD THE RIGHT MESSAGE – BUT IT WAS COMING FROM THE WRONG SOURCE…)

PAUL WAS CONCERNED ABOUT HER (THE BIBLE SAYS IT VEXED HIM IN HIS SPIRIT…) SO MUCH SO THAT ONE DAY – HE TURNS AND HE SAYS TO THIS WOMAN (OR SHALL I SAY TO THAT UNCLEAN SPIRIT WITHIN HER…) “IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST COME OUT OF HER!”

THE WORD SAYS, “SHE WAS DELIVERED THAT VERY SAME HOUR!”

NOW, THE MEN WERE PROFITING FROM HER – SAW THAT PAUL HAD BROUGHT AN END TO THEIR MEAL TICKET – AND THEY WERE NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT!

(AND SO…) THEY HAD PAUL AND SILAS ARRESTED – THEY WERE BROUGHT BEFORE THE MAGISTRATE (ON TRUMPED-UP CHARGES…) THEN THEY WERE BEATEN AND THROWN INTO JAIL!

THE ONLY THING THEY WERE GUILTY OF (IS BEING USED BY GOD…) TO DELIVER THIS YOUNG LADY – FROM HER DEMONIC POSSESSION!

(BUT HOW MANY KNOW TODAY – THAT WHENEVER YOU GET DELIVERED FROM SOMETHING – EVERYBODY IS NOT GOING TO BE HAPPY ABOUT IT?)

•WHEN THE LORD DELIVERS YOU FROM A BAD SITUATION…

•WHEN GOD SETS YOU FREE FROM AN ADDICTION…

•WHEN THE LORD LITERALLY STEPS IN AND TURNS YOUR LIFE AROUND…

NOT EVERYBODY IS GOING TO SHARE IN THE EXCITEMENT!

SO HERE THEY ARE – BEATEN, BLOODIED AND BROKEN – LYING IN A PHILIPPIAN JAIL! AT MIDNIGHT

WE KNOW THAT MIDNIGHT IS THE DARKEST PART OF THE NIGHT – AND IT IS THE DEEPEST PART OF THE NIGHT…

BECAUSE ONE SECOND AFTER MIDNIGHT – IS A BRAND NEW DAY! ONE SECOND AFTER MIDNIGHT IS OFFICIALLY MORNING!

AND I THINK THERE’S SOME CORRELATION – WHEN WE READ THE SCRIPTURE, “WEEPING MAY ENDURE BUT FOR A NIGHT, BUT JOY…COMES IN THE MORNING!” IF YOU CAN JUST MAKE IT THROUGH MIDNIGHT…JOY – IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!

Acts 16:25-26 - And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard 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 every one’s bands were loosed.

I want to tell somebody “What you do and what you say At Midnight will determine what happens daylight!”

What did Paul and Silas do and say At Midnight?

At Midnight the Prayed

I am sure that they called on God on other occasions, but they had never passed this way before, and they had to have some help from heaven.

You can call Him up anytime, but sometimes it is more of a sacrifice that will glorify God, when you are at the end of your rope.

Prayer makes us aware of His presence

Prayer helps us see and hear His voice

Prayer changes us

Prayer changes the atmosphere of expectency

Prayer gives us hope

Prayer brings light to the darkness in our hearts

Prayer helps us tear down walls

Prayer helps us become who He has called us to be

Prayer helps us be more selfless

Prayer makes us more like Him

At Midnight they sang praises unto God

1.  Praise gets our focus off ourselves and back on God.  In our often “selfie” focused world, we need this constant reminder - life is not all about us.  We may know that in our heads, but yet our hearts think differently so often. We're prone to selfishness, He desires our eyes be set firmly on Him, because that's where our true hope is found.  He is worthy of our praise, no matter what we face from day to day.

“Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!”  Psa. 150:2

"And my tongue shall speak of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long." Psa. 35:28

2.  Praise brings us to a place of humility.  We remember our dependency on God, as we acknowledge our need for Him.  As we praise Him as Creator and King of this world, we admit and recognize that we’re not in control, but He is.  He is above all.

“Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”  Psa. 95:2-3

 "I will give you thanks in the great congregation: I will praise you among much people." Psa. 35:18

3.  Praise makes the enemy flee.  It pushes back the darkness the surrounds, and blocks the attacks and hissing lies over us.  Evil will not stick around if we’re praising our God, who will fight our battles for us.  In the story of Jehoshaphat, we see God miraculously defeat the enemy, because of the people’s obedience to praise Him.

“As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated”  2 Chron. 20:22

4.  Praise leaves no room for complaining and negativity.  Sometimes even within our prayers, we can tend to complain about our problems.  God knows our hearts.  And He cares about all that concerns us.  But through praise, we’re focused on Him, no longer allowing too much attention to be centered around the struggles.  We’re reminded of what He has already done in our lives.  We’re reminded that He knows what concerns us, and is capable of taking care of all that burdens us.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.” Psa. 103:2-4

"By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." Heb. 13:15

5.  Praise makes room for God’s blessings over our lives.  He will not hold back His goodness, praise opens the gateway of blessing as we come into the Presence of our King.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!”  Psa. 100:4

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:" Eph. 1:3

6.  Praise invites His presence.  God dwells close to us when we praise Him.  He lives there.  He looks for it. 

“He inhabits the praises of His people.”  Psa. 22:3

"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;" 1 Pet. 2:9

7.  Our spirits are refreshed and renewed in His presence.  We're strengthened by His peace and refueled by His joy.  Through a heart of praise, we realize that God doesn’t just change our situations and work through our problems, He changes our hearts. 

“In His presence, there is fullness of joy.”  Psa. 16:11

"Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands." Psa. 63:3-4

8.  It paves the way for God's power to be displayed, miracles ​happen.  People's lives are affected and changed.  God shakes things up through praise.  As Paul and Silas sat in prison, shackled, and chained, they kept right on praising God.  And God sent an earthquake that shook the cells and broke the chains.  The jailer and all his family came to know Christ that very night. 

We have an account here of prayer and praise unto the Lord that caused things to be shaken and doors to open. In fact, in this case all doors were opened and everyone’s bands were loosed.

Your prayer and praise are powerful spiritual weapons. Sometimes when we come to church it isn’t easy to get our praise going, but it is necessary.

These men were offering a sacrifice of praise. I don’t think it was easy to get that song started. They had been whipped, stripped, and thrown into prison. For all they knew they had been whipped and the axe could be next.

Satan had tried to put an end to their ministry. He tried to cause them to be weary of their cause and doubtful of their Lord. But they knew what to do and they knew who to look to and God turned it around.

PAUL AND SILAS FOUND THEMSELVES BEATEN, BLOODIED AND BROKEN – THEIR SITUATION COULDN’T GET ANY DARKER!

BUT AT MIDNIGHT – YOU DON’T FIND THEM WHINING! AT MIDNIGHT – YOU DON’T HEAR THEM SAYING, “WOE IS ME!”

INSTEAD, LUKE SAYS THEY PRAYED AND SANG PRAISES UNTO GOD!

Our text said, "At midnight". There is an old song that says, "It’s easy to sing when the sun is shining bright, but you need a song in your heart in the night."

BECAUSE IT’S EASY FOR US TO PRAISE GOD – WHEN ALL IS WELL IN OUR LIVES!

•IT’S EASY FOR US TO SING, “THIS LIL LIGHT OF MINE, I’M GONNA LET IT SHINE!” (WHEN THE SUN IS SHINING….)

•IT’S EASY FOR US TO LIFT OUR VOICES AND SING, “I KNOW THE LORD WILL MAKE A WAY SOMEHOW!” (WHEN ALL YOUR BILLS ARE PAID…)

•IT’S NOT TOO DIFFICULT TO LIFT YOUR HANDS AND SAY, “I WILL BLESS THE LORD!” (WHEN YOU HAVE A REASONABLE PORTION OF HEALTH AND STRENGTH….)

BUT CAN YOU SING SONGS OF ZION WHEN YOU’RE GOING THROUGH? CAN YOU PRAISE HIM IN THE MIDST OF YOUR STORM? CAN YOU PRAISE HIM DURING YOUR MIDNIGHT EXPERIENCES?

Psalms 119:62 says: At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto Thee because of Thy righteous judgements.

What will we do at midnight? Midnight is a milestone so to speak. The night is half over and with each minute we get closer to the dawn. The question we face is; can we make it until day break?

The answer depends on what we do at midnight, what decision we make, and did we prepare while it was yet day.

Exodus 12:29 tells us that at midnight the Lord did smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from that of Pharoah to the firstborn of the one in the dungeon. Only the ones who had applied the blood of the passover lamb were spared. Only those who had prepared.

What will you do at midnight? What you do at midnight depends a great deal on what you do now. Jesus said work while it is yet day.

How we come out of a trial often depends on how we went in to it.

Paul told Timothy to be a good soldier. Soldiers prepare for battle in time of peace. They practice.

When the enemy is closing in, you don’t have time to get out the Book and find out how to load your weapon.

I have heard men tell of being in the army. They were taught to disassemble and assemble that weapon blind folded, so if need be they could do it in the dark, because their life might depend on it.

Friend we are in a spiritual warfare and many Christians not only don’t know how their weapons work, but they were not even aware that they had any.

II Corinthians 10:4 says, For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.

Ephesians 6:11 says, Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

When Paul and Silas began to praise God and to sing in the midst of that prison, they were using spiritual weapons.

The Bible says that Daniel was in the habit of praying 3 times a day before he was thrown into the den of lions, but that’s why the lion’s mouth’s were shut.

You don’t have time to figure out how prayer works as you are being thrown into the lions.

When things go wrong some are in the habit of praying and some are in the habit of cursing.

What will you do at midnight? Will you turn to God or will you turn on God? The point is that we are to prepare for midnight before midnight comes.

The Matthew 25 talks of ten virgins that took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five were wise and five were foolish. The foolish took no oil with their lamps. The wise took oil in their vessels for their lamps. They prepared. Their vessels were filled.

The cry came at midnight and the foolish found their lamps gone out.

They also found that they could not make it in on the other five’s oil.

They had to go to buy oil and while they were going the bridegroom came.

The five that were ready went in with Him and the door was shut.

If we don’t stay filled up on the things of God in the midst of our trial, we may find our lamp going out.

What will you do at midnight? If the cry came tonight, would you be ready, or would you have to get something in order?

Let me ask you, "If the midnight cry came, has the blood been applied, has the Spirit been received, has the praise been offered?"

Isaiah 30:29 says, Ye shall have a song as in the night: and gladness of heart.

Do you have a prayer and song for the night?

What you do and what you say at Midnight will determine what happens at daylight.

You see Paul and Silas were put into the prison not for what they did wrong, but for what they did right! They preached the word of God and souls were being added to the kingdom of God.

Paul ended up in Macedonia because God sent him there. He gave him a vision of a man crying out for the message of Jesus Christ.

Paul was doing exactly what the man in the vision asked for he was preaching the message of Jesus Christ and it got him thrown into Jail.

Now he could have started questioning God as to why he was thrown into to jail or where is the man from the vision but he and Silas decided to pray and sing praises.

Then God showed up and shook the prison cells, loosed the chains and opened the doors.

God heard their prayer and praise and responded with an earthquake.

Not only God heard the prayer and praise but the prisoners did too! But nobody left.

Then the jailer came in ready to take his own life and Paul and Silas was able to win him and his whole household!

You see what you do and what you say at midnight not only brings deliverance to you but to those around you.

Watch what you do and say in your midnight moments someone else’s life and deliverance depends on it!

Saying and doing the wrong thing At Midnight could bring death

Saying and doing the right thing At Midnight will bring deliverance.

A Midnight Moment can Bring Daylight Deliverance!

What will you do “At Midnight?”

Let’s Pray