At Midnight

Acts 16:19-28 NKJV

“At Midnight”

July 3, 2022

Minister Smith taught me in Hour of Power one Thursday afternoon about a man named Horatio Spafford: In the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 he lost everything they owned and made plans, to move to Europe. Spafford booked his wife and four daughters passage on a ship and planned to join them a few weeks later. History records that when the ship carrying his loved ones collided with another vessel it quickly sank, carrying his four daughters to the bottom. His wife was rescued from the waters and telegraphed her husband the awful news. Spafford left Chicago to go be with his wife and as he crossed the Atlantic, the captain came and showed him that they were passing over the spot where the accident had taken place. Spafford took a pen and paper and wrote these words while grieving where his girls perished: When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul. Spafford took the worst experience of his life and turned it into a hymn of praise.

I. THE MINISTRY v. 16-24 “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city.” When Paul and Silas arrived in Philippi, they expected great things to happen. But as soon as the Lord started blessing, the devil began his work. The bible says that there was an annoying demon possessed woman following them in verses 16-18. These men were in the Lord’s will, doing the Lord’s work and still trouble came into their lives. Paul turned to her and commanded the unclean spirit to come out of her in the name of Jesus and it obeyed and came out! But when her masters realized that their money-making scam was over because she could no longer serve as a fortune-teller for them, they were enraged. These men did not care about the poor demon possessed girl, they cared about their money. When they stirred up the people of Philippi with accusations, even they turned on Paul and Silas. They hauled them into court; there they were beaten and thrown into prison. All they had done was preach the Gospel and try to help someone and come to realize a popular saying of our day that “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.” Have you ever been there? Have you ever tried to help somebody only to find yourself the object of ridicule? Paul and Silas were handed over to the jailer and “thrust” then into the inner prison, and then their feet were locked in chains. This was no prison like anything we have in this country. They were thrown into a deep, dark cell that would have been the nastiest place you could ever imagine. They were still bleeding from their wounds from the beating they just took. They would have been chained amid mud, filth, and human waste. This dungeon would have been a dank, dark, dreary, dirty, disgusting and dangerous. They were there for no other reason but for faithful, obedient service to the Lord Jesus Christ. Have you ever been there? And the bible says that “It was Midnight!” Jesus already told His disciples that trouble was an absolute certainty, John 16:33! If you have walked with Jesus for any length of time you know that living for Christ is hard. There will be some hard times, times when trials and suffering will dominate your life. There will be times when you will do your best to serve the Lord, but He will still put you in a midnight situation. Sometimes it will be worse than you can ever imagine. Spouses die, viruses come, children rebel, marriages fail, and sometimes life hurts. It was Midnight! And all the good deeds, good prayers, good hopes, good wishes, and good thoughts will not be able to prevent you from having a Midnight experience from time to time.

II. THE MIRACLE v. 25 “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God” When Paul and Silas found themselves in this midnight experience, they were hurting, humiliated and in need of some encouragement. AND in their hour of need they turned to the only source of help available to them. They turned to God and lifted their hearts to Him in prayer. These men knew something that so many saints have figured out. They knew the best place to find the help in a difficult situation is to turn to the Throne of Grace. Psalm 46 says God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. As they prayed, their prison was transformed from a place of pain into a place of praise. Paul and Silas began to sing songs of praise unto the Lord. Charles Spurgeon said, “Anyone can sing in the day. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but the skillful singer is he who can sing when there is not a ray of light to read by.... Songs in the night come only from God; they are not in the power of men.” May God help us to have a song in the midnight hour. May He help us to be like Job, Job 1:20-21 "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord." May He help us to be like Paul, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “Most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” The bible says “and the prisoners heard them” – They were amazed by what they were hearing! Here were two men who had been severely beaten, carelessly thrown into the inner prison and fastened down in the stocks. Yet, they are not moaning and groaning. They are praising their God and singing love songs to him! The world is watching you and me as we go through our midnight experiences. They could care less about us when we are filled with joy and everything is going well; but they are all eyes and ears when trouble comes into our lives. They want to see if our faith is real when it’s midnight. Suddenly, foundations of prison shaken – All of a sudden, God moved in power and one moment all the prisoners were chained down and the next moment, they were all free! One moment, things looked bleak, but in the next moment, the power of the Lord changed the situation and things began to look better! Did you notice that even though they were free, they were still in prison? “we are all here.” They were made free while they were still in their midnight experience.