Revival at Midnight
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Doctors tell us that people who are deprived of sleep often make poor decisions. Fatigue affects our judgment, clouds our thinking, and causes us to assume the worst. Most people are asleep at midnight. It is the hour when our strength is gone and our minds are weary.
And yet, isn't it amazing that God often does His greatest work when we least expect it?
Perhaps the reason some of us are missing our blessing is because we're standing over the tea kettle waiting for it to boil. You've heard the saying, "A watched pot never boils." Of course it boils, but when you're anxiously waiting for something to happen, it always seems to take longer than it really does. While you're watching and worrying, God is still working.
Midnight marks the middle of the night. It is the dividing line between one day ending and another day beginning. It happens in an instant. One moment yesterday is passing away, and the next moment tomorrow has begun.
Throughout Scripture, midnight becomes a significant hour.
The psalmist declared, "At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments" (Psalm 119:62). While others slept, the psalmist praised.
Jesus spoke of a man disturbed at midnight by a friend in need, revealing what matters most to us. In the parable of the ten virgins, the cry was heard at midnight, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh!" reminding us to stay ready because God's timing is often unexpected.
What is your midnight?
Maybe you got up one morning with your workday already planned, only to have your supervisor call you into the office and tell you that your services were no longer needed. That's midnight.
Perhaps you received a phone call from the hospital informing you that a loved one had been rushed to the emergency room. That's midnight.
Maybe the pantry was nearly empty, the bills were piling up, and you had hungry mouths to feed with no help in sight. That's midnight.
Midnight is that season when life does not go according to plan. Midnight is when tears flow. Midnight is when questions arise. Midnight is when fear whispers and hope seems far away.
And somebody is wondering, "Brother preacher, how can I have revival in my midnight? Why would you expect me to rejoice when I'm suffering from heartache and loss?"
That is exactly where we find Paul and Silas in Acts chapter 16.
It was midnight.
They had been beaten.
They had been falsely accused.
They had been thrown into prison.
Their feet were fastened in stocks.
Their bodies were wounded.
Their future was uncertain.
And yet, at midnight, they prayed.
At midnight, they sang praises unto God.
And before the night was over, God sent revival.
25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
The Saints are singing
The Saints are singing
Now you are saying that I don’t have a singing voice. But singing is not about the melody or a harmonious blend of notes. Singing flows from a heart that is filled with the Holy Ghost. It is how we edify and praise our LORD. If you are a bible believer then you should have a praise in heart and on your lips.
Praise always please the LORD. Look at
30 I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. 31 This will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.
I will bless the Lord at all times:
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make her boast in the Lord:
The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt his name together.
Songs that they could have sung: Father, I stretch My hands to Thee! I need Thee! Precious Lord! Singing is how we communicate our deepest affections.
The songs that we sing should strengthen and not deplete our spirits.
The songs that we sing should be celebratory worship.
Prayer and Praise are powerful weapons not only when things are going well, but also when things are not going well. Just like the situation Paul and Silas are in. Remember from verses 9-10, Paul comes here because a vision came to him to come and preach in this region. Sometimes midnight comes in your life when you are being obedient to the LORD. But if you can muster up a prayer and some praise, the atmosphere changes. Revival at Midnight.
Darkness can be a gift:
We can find hidden treasures in the dark
We can find deeper intimacy with God
For some of us, it was in a dark situation that you came to yourselves and gave your life to Christ. For some of us, if we didn’t have dark moments then we probably would not pray
Prisoners heard them.
If it is the midnight hour, then why are the prisoners not asleep.
I can understand Paul and Silas. They are lifting up their LORD
Point: Sometimes God has to lock you up to hold you down so that you can hear what thus said the LORD.
How can they hear without a preacher? Maybe these prisoners had good health and the activity of their limbs to go to church but chose not to go. So in order to hear a word, maybe the LORD had to lock them down.
Application:
Every bible believer should have a song
Every bible believer should pray without ceasing
God’s Word never comes back void. Isa 55:11
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
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 every one’s bands were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
The Prison was Shaking
The Prison was Shaking
Suddenly a great earthquake. Without hesitation it happened. Caused the foundation to “shake” the doors open.
Note: Earthquakes are caused when faults slip or shift.
Notice the spiritual shift in the prison.
When God hears and answer prayers, situations shift. Lives change
God spreads His message 1 Shake at a Time, 1 Shift at a Time, 1 Open Door at a Time, and then He breaks chains.
Not only were doors opened but what had them bond was also loosed.
Can you see the closed mind of the prisoners becoming open?
Sin that had them shackled is now free. This is why Jesus came. To set the captives free.
Jesus said in Luke 4:18-19
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
The Jailer awakes out of his sleep after the shaken and shifting is over. Now let me tell you what just happened.
The Jailer has no expectations in life and because he has no expectations he sleeps through the shaking and shifting.
Look at verse 23, his orders were to make sure they didn’t escape. Ref. Acts 12 when Paul was rescued and all 16 jailers were killed by Herod.
He became comfortable with his expectations and fell asleep. (They are in the deepest part of the jail and I got them locked up). He let his guard down.
The jailer saw open doors and expected condemnation. He never imagined that the same doors God opened for Paul and Silas would also open the way to his own salvation.
Application:
When you experience a shaking and a shift, then you have to let those who saw you locked up and bond, let them see you free.
You see you thought your boss had authority over your life but when God creates a shaking and shift in your life, then let your boss see it. (Your boss had low expectations of themself)
Follow Me: Verse 28 will explain.
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
Paul and others do not escape the prison even though they are free from what was holding them back.
Reason is that the Jailer was in Prison (Spiritually) and Bro Paul did not want to leave him in prison
This is what Christian do. When we are saved, we want others to be saved. When others hurt, we hurt, when God bless me, I want God to bless you. I’m talking about revival at midnight
There are two midnight situations in this lesson. We clearly see Paul and Silas, but the jailer is now experiencing a midnight situation.
Notice, he is the keeper of the prison, this gave him authority
But when midnight came, God showed him who was in authority
29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
The Sinner was seeking
The Sinner was seeking
He called for a light. Not the light from the lamp
The Light of Salvation, the Light of Hope, and the Light of Deliverance.
The Light of God’s word. Psalm 119:105
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
This is where we often read the Bible too fast. In verse 29, the jailer "called for a light." That tells us he needed light in order to see what was going on. Yet in verse 28, before the lights were brought, Paul cried out, "Do thyself no harm: for we are all here." The question is: How did Paul know what the jailer was about to do if the jailer had not yet called for a light? The text never tells us. Luke simply records that Paul knew and responded. Sometimes the Bible gives us the facts without explaining all the details. Whether Paul heard the sword being drawn, perceived the situation from what was happening around him, or was made aware in some other way, the text does not say. What the text does emphasize is that Paul knew exactly what needed to be said at exactly the right moment: "Do thyself no harm." The focus of the passage is not how Paul knew; the focus is that before the jailer could destroy himself, a voice reached him with a message of hope.
Look at verse 30: Here is where the Word of God is guiding the Jailer
In verse 27, the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors open. In the darkness, he assumed the worst. He concluded that the prisoners had escaped, and he was ready to take his own life.
But in verse 29, he called for a light. And after the light came, everything changed. What he thought he had lost, he still had. The prisoners were still there. And in verse 30, instead of dying, he walked Paul and Silas out of the jail and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
In the dark, he was ready to kill himself. In the light, he was ready to give himself to Christ.
What he saw in the darkness drove him to despair; what he saw in the light led him to salvation.
Before the light, he saw open doors and thought his life was over. After the light, he saw God's servants and discovered that his life was just beginning.
Bold confession...what must I do to be saved.
True Saving Faith includes three components: Knowledge, Approval, and Personal Trust.
And you cannot have 1 of 3 and be saved.
Nicodemus knew that Jesus had come from God. But he didn’t approve and trust Jesus during the first encounter
And can you trust someone who you don’t know?
Can you approve of someone who you don’t know and trust.
This jailer through Paul and Silas learned who God was, then he approved of their message by trusting by asking...what must I do to be saved.
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
Paul was one of the greatest Proclaimers of the Gospel. That qualifies him to be a preacher.
31 And they said, “!!Believe!! in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
This is the invitation.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
And when men are saved, then the whole house hold is saved.
The Jailer made a conscious to forsake the Roman Rule and accept Jesus as his personal savior.
It’s midnight and it’s revival time.
The Invitation
The Invitation
Closing/Conclusion
Closing/Conclusion
Illustration #1: The Clock Strikes Midnight
Most people don't even notice when midnight arrives. There is no fanfare. No announcement. No trumpet sounds. One second it is 11:59:59, and the next second it is 12:00. Yesterday is over, and a new day has begun.
You don't see the transition, but it happens in an instant.
Closing Application:
Somebody came into church tonight thinking they were still living in yesterday's pain, yesterday's failures, and yesterday's fears. But just as midnight marks the end of one day and the beginning of another, God can change your life in a moment. Before the night was over, the jailer went from despair to hope, from death to life, and from a prison to a place of praise.
Midnight is not only the darkest part of a day, but it is also in the middle of day and night. (Christ should be in the middle)
John 9:4 “4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.”
Also means transition to morning.
New Mercies each morning.
Lamentations 3:22–23 (ESV)
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
When Paul and Silas pray and sing hymns at midnight, a great earthquake shakes the prison foundations, opening all doors and unfastening everyone’s bonds. (Acts 16:25–26)
This parallels the earthquake at Christ’s death: at Calvary, the curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom, and the earth shook, splitting rocks. (Matt 27:51)
Both earthquakes represent divine intervention breaking barriers—at Calvary, the veil separating humanity from God’s presence; in Philippi, the literal and spiritual chains binding the prisoners.
On Good Friday, it was the darkest hour in the history of humanity. Scripture says that the SUN didn’t shine from the 6th to the 9th hour. And maybe because of the SON was hanging high on the cross.
