Elevate - The Story Pt 28 - Turning Point

Paul and Silas are preaching the gospel and facing opposition. They cast a demon out of a slave girl, but her owners get mad and have them thrown into prison. Despite being in a dark and hopeless situation, Paul and Silas pray and sing hymns to God at midnight. This is a turning point, a time of hope and new beginnings. The struggle they face is not against people, but against spiritual forces. Just because it feels like the walls are crumbling, just because it feels like it's a dark moment does not take away the fact that you are a child of God that has purpose. You may be facing a temporary setback, the enemy may have slung you into the inner prison for a moment, but as you begin to worship and you begin to feel that freedom as you are in the midst of worship in the midnight hour, I promise you purpose will begin to return to you. Welcome to Elevate from Authentic Life Church in Mobile, Alabama with Pastor John DiQuatro. We hope it builds your faith and helps you to live a life for God that you've always wanted to live. We hope it inspires you to be a fully devoted, authentic follower of Jesus Christ. Enjoy the message and welcome to Elevate. We are continuing in our series today, the story. We are going to continue in the book of Acts. We're going to be in chapter 16, and it's probably a pretty familiar story for most of you, but we're going to look at Acts 16 beginning in verse 16, and it goes like this. 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. She followed Paul and us, crying out, These men are servants of the Most High God who proclaim to you the way of salvation. 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. 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. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, These men are Jews and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice. The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments of them off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. Have you ever had one of those days? One of those days when you knew things were not going to go so well, but then it just got worse. One of those days where one bad thing after another seemed to hit you before you could even recover from the last thing. One of those days where you said, Hey, at least it can't get any worse than this. And then it gets worse than that. In our Scriptures today that we've read, we see that Paul and Silas, they're having one of these days. Everything seems to be going well, and then things just take a turn southward. So they're on this missionary journey. They're sharing the gospel all throughout the region of Asia Minor. They're building churches and strengthening the kingdom of God, seeing mighty miracles everywhere they go. They were called to go to Macedonia. And while they were there in Macedonia, they lead a merchant woman named Lydia. They lead her to Christ, and then she and her entire family are baptized. This is a great trip. This woman, Lydia, becomes instrumental in spreading the gospel into Europe. But then, all of a sudden, things begin to change. They're headed out to a place where they would typically go to pray. And a slave girl meets them out there and begins following them. And this girl, this slave girl, is possessed by a demon. And this demon allows her to be able to have psychic abilities and to tell fortunes. And because of that, her owners were getting a ton of money from her ability to tell fortunes. And so she begins shouting behind them everywhere they go, These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation. I mean, not bad, right? That's free advertising. Like a walking billboard for their ministry. However, this just went on for days and became a severe nuisance and a distraction, which is exactly what it was intended to be. She may have been coming out saying, These men are servants of the Most High God, but all she was trying to do was take attention off of them, bring attention onto herself, and thwart the plan of God. So Paul gets fed up with this girl following them for days, shouting these things. He gets to his wit's end and says, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And this demon comes out of the girl and flees. Again, that's a good thing, right? Cast a demon out of a slave girl in the name of Jesus. Nope, didn't work out well. Her owners get upset because they can no longer earn money from her demon-inspired, soothsaying abilities. Her ability to tell fortunes was because of the possession of a demon. And so they get mad and they drag Paul and Silas out into the town square. They incite a riot against them. They start beating them with rods and ultimately the magistrates pick them up and throw them into prison. Here are Paul and Silas. They're preaching, going about the mission that God had for them. An instigator is following them and disrupting their teaching. Paul casts a demon out, but because of all... they're the ones that end up being thrown in jail. So let's just stop here for a moment. At this point in the story, things are quite unfair for Paul and Silas. They're preaching the gospel across Asia. They're seeing many miracles. They're seeing many converts to Christianity. And as they're traveling, they're the ones that are instigated. Somebody comes against them. They didn't do anything wrong. Somebody comes against them for no particular reason than to stir up trouble, yet they end up paying the price for it. Ever felt that way in your life? You feel like you're doing everything right, everything you're supposed to do. You're working hard. You're minding your own business. You're doing the best you can for your family, for your church. You're trying to fulfill God's call in your life, and then BAM! You feel like the rug gets pulled out from under you. Unexpected hardships, right? They come at unexpected times. A lost job. A death in the family. A financial crisis brought on by unforeseen expenses that come. Or crazy inflation or whatever. Or a crisis with your child that happens. Or maybe your relationship that you're in begins to fail. And when these things happen unexpectedly, it brings us into this difficult place. And sometimes these things make us feel imprisoned. Like Paul and Silas, right? Imprisoned. They didn't do anything wrong, but here they find themselves locked in, in prison, hopeless with nowhere to go. You ever felt that way in your life? We're going to be doing everything right, but we still find ourselves in these difficult moments, in these low times. Times that we feel that we're imprisoned and there's no way out. Now if we look at the next verse, what we just read, verse 25, it says this, about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. Midnight. It was at midnight. Now listen, I don't believe that there are coincidences in the Bible. I believe that every detail has significance as God teaches us through His Word. And I believe that the hour of midnight is important. I believe it's significant. You see, midnight is the darkest hour. When we think about midnight, that's smack dab in the middle of the night. It's dark. Nobody's up and about except people that are getting into trouble. It's quiet. It's a dark and lonely place at midnight. And all of us face those times when we feel like it can't get any darker than it is at this moment. It's the darkest time of night. And the problem that you are facing is keeping you up. It's robbing you of your sleep. And so you pace the floor and your brain is in overtime in fear and in worry. You can't just shake this thing. You're constantly thinking about it. But as midnight approaches, just know that God does His best work when we think that it's too late. That's when God does His best work. But here's the thing. Midnight also represents the end of the day and the beginning of a new day. It's a turning point. Midnight is a turning point. It might be dark. It might be lonely. It might feel hopeless at midnight. But midnight is a turning point. Because at 12.01 it is a new day. The sunrise is coming soon. The brightness and hope of a new day is just around the corner. Midnight might be the darkest hour. But it can also be the most hopeful hour if you let it. If you can keep your faith and trust in God. If you can see Him rather than the problems that you're facing. That's what happens here with Paul and Silas. It's amazing. They might be in prison. And it's not just prison. They are in the inner chamber. The darkest, most secure, most hopeless place. And not only in the inner prison, but they had just been beaten. And they're hurting and bleeding and tired. But at midnight, there's a turning point. There's a turning point. Now let's stop here a moment so I can remind you of some things that you probably already know. But often times we struggle to remember this when we're in the midst of a struggle and a battle in our life. Ephesians 6.12 tells us this. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. But against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. We don't wrestle against flesh and blood. The struggles, listen to me, the struggles that we face have never had their origin in people, in systems, in finances, in politics. Whether we want to recognize it or not, there is a great cosmic battle that is taking place in the spiritual realm over your soul. Whether you realize it or not. And we'll never fully understand the measure of that spiritual cosmic battle until we reach eternity and we can begin to really see what was happening while we were here on earth. But this cosmic battle, this is why Paul and Silas were thwarted in this moment. This is why King Herod tried to kill Jesus. This is why Joseph was sold into slavery. This is why the apostles were martyred. It's why Jesus was crucified. You see, Satan is always trying to stop God's plan. In that great cosmic battle that's taking place over your soul and my soul, over the church of God, the whole purpose of it is to stop the plan of God from ever materializing. And if he can get your focus onto money or relationships or offenses or any other hardship that you're facing, then you won't be carrying out God's will in your life. That's how the enemy operates. Let me get them focused on everything that they're upset about, whether it's political or something in the church or a family member. Let me get them angry and losing sleep at night and fantasizing about all the things that I'm going to say when I finally get a chance to speak my mind, rather than praying. I love falling asleep in prayer. And then you wake up in the middle of the night and it's like your brain remembers where you left off. You know what I'm talking about? But instead, the enemy wants us focused on all that stuff. He wants you having a financial crisis or sickness in your body so that that's what you spend all your time thinking about. And if he can do that and if he can get you off course, he can thwart the plan of God that's in your life. Now, you've got to believe that there's a plan of God for your life. You've got to believe that you're not here by accident, that there is purpose in your existence. Purpose in your existence. None of us are here by accident. The Bible tells us, right there, that He predestined us for good works, that He has prepared for us before the foundations of the earth. There's stuff we've got to do, but we've got to be in relationship with Him. And the enemy's just trying to get all up in the middle of that and mess that up. He's been running the same play since the Garden of Eden. That's how He operates. That's why when you were baptized, all hell broke loose in your life. Some of you know what I'm talking about. It's why when you started moving toward the call that you felt that God placed in your life, that you were immediately met with opposition. You felt like everything fell, as you just said yes to God, everything else fell apart in your life. That's the battle that we're facing. It's why the attack of the enemy has been so obviously against this church for the last year. Because we're full of vision, believing for revival and praying for God to impact our community. That's the enemy's scared of us. He's trying to stop God's plan. We're not going to let him. Hang in there with me, folks. Come on, we're going to see God move in this place like you've never seen. But just know this, you are a threat to the enemy. And so all that he knows how to do is to try to stop what God is doing. Now listen, he can't do anything creative in and of himself. So he's just constantly on the defense, trying to stop God's plan from moving forward. He sees God move his pawn from A1 to whatever. I don't know how to speak in chess terms, right? And then he counterattacks. He's just on the defense constantly. But that's why we very often find ourselves in the midnight hour. In that place where things seem dark. When we've been seeking God. When we've been doing everything right. And yet it feels like all hell was just unleashed on us to mess with our life. You know, like when the Bible says, when it rains, the Bible doesn't say that. But it feels that way sometimes, doesn't it? When it rains, it pours, right? You're like, why is hell unleashed on my life? What have I done wrong? You're doing something right. That's why. It's midnight. But listen, midnight is a turning point. There's a new day coming. Now we've identified where our battle originates, right? In the spiritual realm. Not on this earth. It's originating in the spiritual realm. Now let's look how we engage in this battle. Another very familiar scripture to most of us. But 2 Corinthians 10 verse 4 says this. For the weapons of our warfare, they're not of the flesh. Right? We don't battle against flesh and blood. We read that in Ephesians. And so the weapons are not of the flesh. But they have divine power to destroy strongholds. So what does that mean that our weapons are not of the flesh? Well, we are not fighting the cosmic battle against the enemy. We are not fighting against his cohorts that are coming against our life with guns and swords and bombs. We aren't fighting with intellect and human wisdom. We are not fighting with military strategy and the strength of soldiers. Our weapons are not of this world. However, the weapons that we do have, have divine power to destroy strongholds. You see, any fleshly weapon, your abilities, your intellect, your wisdom, it has no power against the spirit realm. You can't try real hard and expect to defeat the enemy. There's no power in the spirit realm, just in your will. You'll never outthink the devil. You'll never outskill the devil. You'll never outstrategize the devil in your flesh. We need spiritual weapons. Because we're taking the battle to where it is, which is in the spiritual realm. Weapons that can destroy spiritual strongholds and defeat the enemy. So what are these weapons? Well, we know what these weapons are. The Word of God. I mean, He's put a weapon in your hand. The Bible calls it a sword. It's the sword of the Spirit. That when you swing Scriptures around and you're going through stuff and you begin to find Scriptures, that when you feel like what you're facing is impossible and you're like, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength, you quote those Scriptures, you put those Scriptures out and the atmosphere rises up, it causes your faith to rise, right? The Word of God speaking Scripture over your situation pushes the enemy back. It's a spiritual weapon. Know the Word of God. Read the Word of God. Memorize the Word of God. Another weapon we have is faith. Right? Trusting and believing in the promises that are in God's Word. We've got to believe, right? Rehearsing those things. Speaking those things. Believing those things. And with faith, Jesus said, with faith we can move mountains. We can see mountains move with our faith. That's a spiritual weapon. And we'll get spiritual results. Prayer. Talking to God in Jesus' name. The Bible is clear that when we agree in prayer that God will give us what we ask. That's why we bring prayer team members up here. I encourage you to take advantage during worship when we have prayer team members up here because they're coming and they're agreeing with you and they're adding their faith to your faith and the Bible tells us that when that happens, mountains can begin to move. Right? Prayer does things in the spirit realm. But there's another weapon. It's one of the weapons that Paul and Silas used while they were in their prison at midnight. Acts 16.25. I'll read it again. It says about midnight. Right at that turning point. Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. They were praying and singing hymns to God. Listen. They were worshiping. They were worshiping God in a prison. I can't imagine the dark, bleak, hopeless feeling that probably hung heavy in the midst of that prison. These guys have been beaten severely and their wounds have not been attended to. There's blood and dirt and sweat on the floor all around them. And they're in the inner prison. So it's extra dark and it's extra gloomy and extra hopeless. Yet, their response was to begin singing hymns to God. Listen, we often think of worship as the thing that we do to start a Sunday service. That's kind of what our worship experience often can be like. It's the prelude to the sermon. And we enjoy it. We like the music. We enjoy the singing. And we encounter God when we come together. But for Paul and Silas, in their lowest point, in the darkest time of night, in pain, exhausted, in a hopeless situation, they began singing to God. They didn't wait for the next gathering. They didn't wait for Sunday. They didn't wait for the maestro to strike up the band. They didn't wait for somebody to put the words on the screen in front of them so that they knew the songs. They just worshiped God. Midnight is a turning point. The darkest and lowest point in your life can be a turning point for you. It doesn't mean that it's not still dark as you worship. As you worship God, yeah, it is in the midst of midnight. Midnight is a dark hour, and as you worship the Lord, it may still be dark. The sun hasn't quite risen yet, but as you worship, things begin to happen in the heavenlies. It's a turning point. When you're willing to, in the midst of your situation, to lift your voice, to lift your eyes heavenward and just begin to glorify and thank the Lord. Now look what happens to Paul and Silas in verse 26. And suddenly, there was a great earthquake. They're singing, they're praying, and they're singing hymns to the Lord. They're worshiping God. And suddenly, there was a great earthquake, so that the foundation of the prison was shaken. And immediately, all the doors were opened and everyone's bonds were unfastened. As they worshiped, the foundations of the prison were shaken. All of the doors opened, and not only that, but the shackles on their arms and legs were unlocked, and they were free. But here's the thing. They were free, but they were still inside the prison. They didn't walk out of the prison. You know, this is the most freeing thing. You know, you can be free in the midst of your prison. In your darkest and lowest and most difficult struggle, you don't have to languish in your situation. You don't have to lick your wounds and complain about your plight. You can be free through worship while you're still in your situation, while you're still facing hardship, while you're still in a hopeless situation where you feel like you're bound and locked up. You can be free in the midst of that prison if you are willing to worship the Lord. You don't have to be paralyzed, focusing on your problems. You don't have to forget that you're a child of God with purpose. Just because it feels like the walls are crumbling, just because it feels like it's a dark moment, does not take away the fact that you are a child of God that has purpose. And there's something still for you to accomplish for the kingdom of God. You may be facing a temporary setback. The enemy may have slung you into the inner prison for a moment, but as you begin to worship and you begin to feel that freedom as you are in the midst of worship in the midnight hour, I promise you, purpose will begin to return to you. Look at what happens after Paul and Silas are set free. They stay in the prison. They don't leave. They stay in the prison free, but still there. And look what happens in verse 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. But Paul cried with a loud voice, Do not harm yourself, for we are all here. And the jailer called for the lights and rushed in and trembled with fear. He fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and all who were in his house, 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. Listen, the jail shakes, the doors open, the shackles fall, but they don't leave. They're free, but they are not out of the prison yet. Worshiping God in the midst of your trial has nothing to do with the solution. Let me say that again. Worshiping God in the midst of your trial has nothing to do with the solution. Sometimes all we're focused on is it getting better. But God is saying, No, I am the God that created you, I am the God that has a plan for your life, and I don't care what you're facing, just worship me. And find freedom in the midst of whatever you're facing. The solution will eventually come. But you see, because of the fact that they worshiped God, the heavens began to move. They were set free in the midst of that prison. Now they found purpose, and their purpose was in leading that jailer and his household to Christ. And once they had finished that purpose, once they engaged with the reason why God ever allowed them to be placed in that prison, then they left and they walked out. Listen, guys, we've got to find purpose in the pain that we face. We've got to learn to find that purpose, and the only way that we're going to do it is if we're willing to lay down our striving, fighting with our weapons of flesh, right, using our own intellect and our own ideas and focusing on our own desires and simply turn heavenward and worship the God who is able. I promise you, it's the greatest weapon that you have in your arsenal, because the enemy's never going to stop coming after you. He's never going to stop trying to mess you up. He's never going to stop trying to thwart God's plan in your life. But you have a weapon, and that weapon is worship. And when you worship God and the Spirit of the Lord brings freedom to you, all of a sudden there's purpose in the midst of your pain. There's purpose in the midst of your prison, and the key is worship. I believe that in this place that there's many of us that are facing some dark situations and you feel like you're in the midnight hour of your life. You don't know when things are going to get better. You don't understand, but you're spinning your wheels and you're trying to do the best that you can, everything that you can, but the problem is you've been fighting with weapons that are formed of flesh. You've been fighting in the natural. God is calling us today to take it up into a higher plane, into a higher level, to take the battle where it belongs, and that's in the spirit realm, and He's given us this weapon of worship to do it. Whatever need that you have, whatever dark place that you're in, whatever prison that you find yourself in right now, it may be a big prison, it may be a small prison, but whatever it is that you're finding yourself in, begin to lay that before the Lord and let worship begin to rise out of your spirit, out of your mouth. We have excellent children's nursery and youth programs, so bring the family. For Pastor John DiQuatro, I'm Scott Chestnut. Thanks again for listening, and God bless you.