But God: Praise at Midnight and Find the Opportunity in Your Crisis
Dr RJ Sing, 52 min
Originally preached as “The Power of the Midnight Praise”
Sermon outline
When your midnight crisis comes, don't complain: praise God like Paul and Silas, because God comes through in the crisis and every crisis carries an opportunity.
Main text
- Acts 16:16-34
Opening
He leads Communion, teaching that the blood of Jesus has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west and that there is no condemnation for a child of God, then prays for the Word to wash and renew the church. Acknowledging the water and electricity shortages people have been through, he explains that the church's giving goes to evangelism among the Jews, Gift of the Givers and the Bible Society, and then turns to Paul and Silas in Acts 16.
About midnight, they prayed and sang hymns
Paul and Silas cast a spirit of divination out of a slave girl, and her owners, having lost their income, had them flogged and thrown into prison on false charges. Everybody has a midnight, a time of crisis, but at midnight Paul and Silas did not grumble: they prayed and sang hymns loudly enough for the other prisoners to hear. God sent a violent earthquake, every door flew open and every chain was loosed.
Illustration: The crowd joined the attack on Paul and Silas, so a crowd is no proof that God is in something.
“About midnight, we are called to praise God and sing hymns.”
- Acts 16:16-26
The jailer became the prisoner
The jailer was about to kill himself until Paul shouted that they were all still there. He fell trembling and asked what he must do to be saved, and the answer was simple: believe in the Lord Jesus, you and your household. The jailer then washed their wounds, fed them and was baptised with his household, and in the same way every chain the devil put on us has already been broken.
Illustration: In his younger days as a Christian he tried to please God by right living, until God revealed to him that righteousness is a nature imparted when you are saved.
“The jailer became the prisoner and the prisoner became the jailer.”
- Acts 16:27-34
- Acts 9:18
- John 2:24-25
Beware of the third voice
He suggests, as his own opinion, that Paul delayed casting out the spirit to protect his mission team. The girl had a spirit of Python, a spirit of divination, which is why fortune-telling and reading the stars are demonic: your Bible tells you your fortune. There is the voice of God, the voice of human reasoning and the voice of the devil, the third voice that beguiled Adam and Eve, so in these end times be careful who speaks into your life and keep going through the storm.
Illustration: A video once shown in church of a father telling his daughter to keep driving through a storm while other cars pulled over, until they drove out of it.
“You are not anyone's garbage can.”
- Genesis 3:1-13
- Matthew 24:24
1. God is a God of opportunity
In conclusion he teaches on recognising an opportunity in a crisis. Everyone is an expert in their own field, and different men and women of God carry different anointings, so honour them rather than speaking ill of them. Whether you are in a storm or not, God is a God of opportunity.
Illustration: Billy Graham preached simple messages without jumping or shouting, yet thousands responded, because God gifted him with evangelism. You don't take your teeth to a barber or ask a street sweeper for financial advice.
“Recognize an opportunity and you can turn a dull life into a successful life.”
- Galatians 2:7-8
2. An opportunity can even be overlooked
When a water main bursts, nobody calls a dentist: they look for a plumber with the expertise to fix it. In the same way, when there is a crisis people will come looking for your expertise, and when you are in a financial hole God sends you a financial deliverer.
Illustration: A burst water pipe during the water crisis: they look for an expert plumber.
“So even in crisis times there's opportunities.”
3. An opportunity can be given to you during a crisis season
The person you overlook may be your golden key and your golden connection to your miracle. God used an unsaved jailer to minister to Paul and Silas, and He will use anyone, saved or unsaved, to open a door for you. Big doors swing on small hinges.
Illustration: When people are hungry they look for food, not jewellery: every crisis creates a need someone can meet.
“He will use any man any woman saved or unsaved to open a door for you.”
4. An opportunity is always near you
All you have to do is learn to recognise it. Don't judge people by what they look like, because the person you ignore could be your million-rand deal.
Illustration: While he was head of detectives at a station in Johannesburg, a man in slippers, shorts and a T-shirt stood lost outside his office. He asked if anyone was helping him, and the man turned out to be a medical doctor.
“An opportunity is always near you.”
5. Opportunities are a gift from God
Because of the crises and negative situations taking place, people will look for experts in every field, and that is what will make you busy and bring you income.
“Opportunities is a gift from God, always remember that.”
6. We receive miracles in crisis times, not only in good times
Throughout the Word of God, countless examples show that God's power is seen in crisis. Looking back, every time he was in a crisis God sent him a deliverer, and the church itself came from far and started with nothing. God will bring the contracts, the customers and the opportunities.
Illustration: He points to members who have been with the church since its early days, when they started with nothing.
“We came from far, we started with nothing but God.”
7. Recognise an opportunity in every situation
At midnight Paul and Silas sang, and suddenly there was an earthquake. Don't conduct a post-mortem of every situation; look for the solution, because promotion comes to those who solve problems. If you forget everything else, remember two words: but God.
“We mustn't conduct a post mortem of every situation because you get stuck with the problem.”
- Acts 16:25-26
Putting it into practice
- In your midnight crisis, pray and sing praises to God instead of complaining.
- Guard what you listen to and refuse to be anyone's garbage can.
- Keep driving through the storm: keep serving God and trusting His Word.
- Look for the opportunity in every crisis, and don't judge people by how they look.
- Carry the words 'but God' with you through the week.
Closing
He sums up the message in two words, 'but God', and leads those watching online in a simple prayer of salvation like the jailer's. He prays for everyone raising a hand, blesses their marriages, families, children's church and teachers, asks God to give them ideas and insights to come out of every crisis, and announces the Wednesday prayer meeting.
Declarations he led
- Dear Lord Jesus, come into my heart. I believe as the jailer did that Jesus Christ is Lord. All I have to do is receive Him as my Lord and my Savior. I now believe as I say this prayer out loud. I have the consciousness of God. I am now saved. I am a child of God.
- But God will come through.
In his words
- “Everybody has experienced a midnight crisis.”
- “About midnight, we are not called to complain.”
- “The jailer became the prisoner and the prisoner became the jailer.”
- “You are not anyone's garbage can. You are a prized possession.”
- “In your midnight hour God will come through.”
Every scripture in this message
- Romans 5:8
- Matthew 26:26-28
- Psalm 103:12
- Romans 8:1
- 2 Corinthians 4:7
- 1 Corinthians 6:20
- Ephesians 3:16
- Romans 12:2
- Acts 16:16-34
- Acts 9:18
- John 2:24-25
- Genesis 3:1-13
- Matthew 24:24
- Galatians 2:7-8
- Numbers 6:25