Latest / The Daily Word / October 22 – Praise in the Midnight Hour
Transcript
- Brandon: Well, welcome once again to the Daily Word Podcast. It is so good to have you joining us. In case we haven't met, my name is Brandon, and I am one of the pastors here at our church. And I'm thrilled that you're taking time today to listen to the podcast. We have a very simple goal in case it's your first time listening. First of all, just taking our life journal reading plan. It's the reading plan that we use as a church. Not necessarily the best one or the only one for sure, but we use it as a church. And taking our New Testament reading and sharing that with you in hopes that it would encourage you, strengthen you, and help you in your walk with God. Secondly, this is a daily reminder to you that God wants to speak to you in a real and a personal way. And so get a Bible, get a journal, go to God in prayer and say, God, speak to me and spend time with God today. That being said, today's reading is Acts chapter 15 and 16. And I want to read to you from Acts chapter 16, verse 25 through 26. I'm hoping this is gonna be a quick podcast because it's a very simple insight that I want to give to you, and that I'm gonna pray for you, and we're gonna go about our day and have an amazing day in Jesus' name. But here's what it says: Acts chapter 16, verse 25 through 26. About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Ooh, I feel convicted. Just reading that, and I will tell you why in a moment. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so the foundations of the prison were shaking, and immediately all the doors were open, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. Goodness gracious, I'm feeling convicted with some fresh insight. Even just reading that to you today as I record this. Here's the observation that I want to make. Paul and Silas are in prison, and they're they're they're potentially looking at a very grim future. potentially they could be killed for their faith. And they're in prison. And it's the midnight hour. It's the darkest hour that is actual literal of the text, but but but it's it's metaphorical. It's figurative as well. It's literally the midnight hour, but it gives a picture to us. It's the midnight hour, the darkest time in the night. And they're in a bad situation, in a bad place, in a dark moment. And yet here they are They start singing hymns and praising God. And it says the prisoners are listening to them. And as they praise, as they worship, suddenly, out of nowhere, didn't see it coming. No warning. Suddenly, there's a great earthquake. And all of the prison doors are open, their chains fall off, and God not only frees them, but God frees everyone who is around them. That's my observation. here's my insight today, or my application to my life. Oftentimes when life is difficult and life is hard and we feel like we are in a dark season or a dark moment, we ain't singing, we ain't praising, we're complaining, we're negative, we're pessimistic, we're down, we're discouraged, woe is me, life is terrible. My pumpkin spice latte, I ordered oat milk and they gave me regular milk and now my tummy hurts. life, it's the worst. And we have this spirit of just negativity and complaining and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm not hating because I can live there myself. I can be a real negative Nancy, a real downer Doug, if you will. No offense to Nancy or Doug, whoever you may be. But their response was different. They're in the midnight hour in a difficult situation, and yet their response is to praise. Their response is to worship. Their response is to go to God, praise, thank, worship God for who he is. And that should be our response as well. That when we find ourselves in a difficult situation, rather than being negative and complaining, we should be worshiping God. For the Bible says that worship invites the presence of power of God. God inhabits the praises of his people. And when we worship and we in in dark seasons, we choose to go, you know what, God, it's it's hard, it's difficult, but I'm gonna praise you anyway. For the battle belongs to the Lord. God, you're my hope, you're my refuge. I'm gonna praise you. I'm gonna put my trust in you. I'm I'm gonna give this over. When we worship, we're inviting the presence and power of God. And what can happen is what happens here. Out of nowhere, we we have suddenly moments where God shows up, God brings breakthrough, God absolutely provides and heals, and everything we thought was gonna be over is now it's now made to nothing because God showed up. God still shows up in suddenly ways. Can I say that? God shows up still in suddenly miraculous moments and in in in suddenly ways. Here's the part that I got really We're really convicted of even just reading this. It says, as they were praising and worshiping, the other prisoners were listening. And here's what I just it occurred to me. I've known it, but it just occurred to me freshly. Other people are listening. Like for me, I'm thinking about my kids. My kids are listening in the back seat. If Jenny and I are worshiping and being thankful, or if we're complaining and being naked, they're listening. Can I just tell you those around you, they're gonna catch your spirit. Hey, hey, why are my kids this way? I don't know. Maybe your kids are that way because they've caught the spirit that you're living in. And they're listening in the back of your your minivan. I hope that doesn't get edited out because that is not, well, it's kind of funny, but it's not funny. My phone just went off. So my apologies. Whew, that scared me. That was a suddenly moment right there. The phone ring. My goodness. Please don't edit that out. that was kind of funny. but but hey, maybe they have that spirit because they're listening in the back of the minivan. And they're listening to how you talk and process, and they're picking up, they're catching the spirit in which you live. I'm convicted, even just thinking about that. Come on, those around you, your friends, your family, your coworkers, they're catching the spirit. And I just want to ask you today: is it a spirit of praise and worship and thanksgiving and surrender to God? Or is it a spirit of negativity and complaining and pessimism and gossip? What spirit are those around you catching? Because our response to difficult situations can either invite and invoke the power and presence of God or it can just cause us to get in this cycle. And not only did God show up and suddenly free Paul and Silas, He freed all those around them. My goodness, can we just see that today? That God can miraculously free. And change the circumstance of our children and our home and all of those around us because of our decision to respond to difficult situations by going to God and worshiping and praying and praising rather than getting stuck in that negative, pessimistic, wah wah, wah, wah, wah mentality. So here's the observation, application, all in a thought. Let's choose to respond appropriately. Life is hard, life is challenging, yes, it is. We can feel like we're in the midnight hour, yes, we can. But our response, we get to choose that. So let's respond by like Paul and Silas, going to God and praise, worship, exaltation, inviting God into the situation. Let us cause those around us to catch that same spirit with our kids and our homes and our Co-workers and our friends, would what would the sphere of influence we have? Would it catch a spirit of worship and dependence on God because of our response? And would we invoke the power and presence of God to suddenly show up in miraculous ways to meet us and meet those around us? I'm gonna pray for you, but I'm gonna pray for me today, pray for us today that God would help us. Lord Jesus, I humbly, Lord, I repent today. Of anywhere that I'm responding with negativity, pessimism, gossip, frustration, word vomit. Lord, I repent today. And I ask you, God, for me and for anyone who's listening today, that as we repent and we turn to you, that you would help our response in the midnight hour to be one of invitation, inviting the presence and power of God to show up, one of dependence upon you. One of worship, one of exaltation, one of saying, God, the battle belongs to you. And I pray that as we respond that way, that not only will we invite the suddenly power of God, but God, we will be be in infectious to those around us. And those around us will catch the same spirit and see the same power of God show up in their life as it does in our life. God, we want to live this way. So empower us by your spirit to do so. In Jesus' name, amen. Man, I feel like that was a shot of Red Bull and Espresso all in one. I'm feeling fired up for the day, and I hope you are today. Hey, I love you so much. Hope you're having a great day so far, and you'll have an even better rest of the day. We'll see you tomorrow on another episode of the Daily Word Podcast.