Instructions for Midnight - John Gray
May 3, 2014These are my notes from the 8:30 am service (5/4/14) and the Saturday night service (5/3/14). The messages were slightly different but the essence is here. Praying the powerful message blesses you as it blessed me.
Does anybody know what time it is?
What time is it in your life?
The natural time may not coincide with the spiritual time, emotional time.
Life doesn’t always make sense.
This Word is for those caught in moment they didn’t expect.
Life sometimes throws you for a loop.
Believers aren’t immune from pain.
It’s an irresponsible gospel that doesn’t prepare you for attacks from the enemy.
There is a devil who wants to see you injured, limping, etc.
It may be the middle of the day but morning is coming.
No matter what your finances.
No matter what’s going on in your marriage.
No matter how crazy your teens are acting.
John wants us to know he’s not standing above us; he’s standing with us.
He goes through attacks also.
His wife just had surgery this week.
Many challenges in her health: tumors, thyroid, cancer.
John wasn’t expecting cancer.
There are moments when midnight shows up in the middle of your day.
How do you respond after you’ve worshiped, tithed, devotion, yet the enemy still comes and interrupts your life/plans?
What do you do when midnight comes?
Midnight comes sooner or later.
Midnight can happen in a moment.
Acts 16:25
Notice it was more than one foundation; enemy has multiple attacks but God shakes all loose.
Say “Open the door.”
God is about to open doors for somebody.
John wants to talk about instructions for midnight.
The problem with midnight is it comes with a predisposition to fear.
There are songs about midnight [Thriller].
Midnight is scary.
You don’t watch scary movies in the middle of the day.
Scary movies are scarier at night.
You attribute to the darkness things that aren’t really there.
That’s the nature of the enemy – he works in shadows.
The enemy lies to you and makes you think you’re alone at midnight.
It’s a darkness that you can feel.
Ever been in an emotional or spiritual midnight?
Midnight comes to arrest you.
It comes to test you.
But ultimately midnight comes to bless you.
People think the issues are God punishing us.
That’s a bad theological understanding of God.
That He’s somewhere after creating us in His image and somehow fighting against us.
The wrong idea that when we make mistakes God is excited to punish us.
I’ve got a disease waiting for you.
That’s the wrong idea.
When midnight comes that’s when character is developed.
Develop perseverance.
Commitment to your belief in God despite circumstances and appearances.
Devil no matter what you throw at me I’ll keep believing, worshipping, tithing, coming to church…
We find Paul and Silas in a midnight moment.
They were arrested for serving God.
Ever feel like the attacks come more because you’re serving God?
God do You see this?
I’ve been serving You and I’m trying to figure out when You’re going to show up.
Midnight strips you of pretense.
You can’t give articulate prayers at midnight.
O Lord why does thou forsaketh me?
In midnight it’s “Help!! I’m down here!”
But we come to church and want people to think we have it altogether.
Paul and Silas were in a desperate situation.
They offended government officials and were in trouble.
The prison wasn’t like today.
No air conditioning, no running water…
Arrested for casting out a devil.
The enemy is attacking you because everywhere you go you take his territory.
They were beaten and put in chains in the inner prison.
No light in the inner prison.
And my feet can’t move.
Put my feet in stocks because He will not cause my feet to stumble.
The building isn’t the church; it’s where you begin to worship.
When God shows up the foundations of the prison are shaken.
You are not sentenced to midnight.
God’s not saying how many trials can I put them thru before they break?
Your breakthrough is not just for you.
If you can give God glory in the middle of your story somebody else will be able to do the same thing.
You can’t be sentenced to midnight; you must be trusted with it.
Can God trust you with pain?
Trials?
Struggles?
Or do you want to skirt through life feeling no pain?
No peaks and valleys.
Regular life, don’t want to bother anybody.
I don’t want the devil messing with me.
God says “This is not the thing that brings Me glory.
I need somebody willing to go through the lowest lows and the highest highs.”
Once upon a midnight
Maybe you’re not sure if you’re in midnight.
Symptoms for midnight:
1. Amnesia
Forget not all His benefits…
There are times you’re going through pain and you forget what God’s done.
How He delivered you the last time.
Got you home on a flat tire.
Covered you in that relationship that you chose and God told you not to get into it.
We’re so worried about what we see in our face we forget what God’s done in the past.
2. Apathy
You stop caring because you assume midnight is a permanent situation.
You quit believing.
You quit coming to church.
If you’ve been in the presence of God there should be some indication of it.
I don’t know what God will do but I’ll smile through it.
The enemy wants you to become cold and unfeeling.
He wants you to turn off your indicator of the presence of God.
Wants you to think your praise doesn’t matter.
But God sees the cost you’ve paid and will repay you for your sacrifice.
3. Acceptance
I guess I’ll always be sick.
I just need to manage my pain.
It’s my diabetes, etc.
That’s not your confession; how dare you take back what Jesus died for on the cross?!
Understand every sickness that attacks the people of God Jesus already died for.
Guard your confession.
It’s not your sickness.
Throw it at the foot of the cross.
It’s a temporary situation.
It doesn’t belong to me.
That’s the confession God is looking for.
We’ll always have this issue; it’ll never get better.
What’s the cure?
1. Find a friend
Proverbs 17:17
John has a couple of men of God in his life that he can go to when he’s struggling.
Don’t act like you have it all together.
You need people who won’t condemn your struggle.
Friends who’ll say let’s pray.
I don’t care who you are, you need somebody to encourage you.
In the middle of midnight you better find yourself a real friend.
2. Focus on Favor
Do you understand Psalm 5:12 says Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.
Midnight looks like it’s on the attack.
Like it’s going to overtake you.
John’s son was sick and it looked bad.
His wife had cancer and it looked bad.
Lord surround me with favor.
The enemy can get close but he can’t touch me.
Your life is under attack because of the oil that’s on the inside of you.
God has already made up His mind about you.
Everything that you’ve been struggling through bows down to the will of God.
Breakthrough comes tonight.
You’ve got favor.
Say “I’ve got favor”.
John knows that’s not grammatically correct.
Remind the enemy of who you are.
Amnesia isn’t just forgetting what God did; it’s forgetting who you are.
Devil I’m a son of the Most High God.
How dare you put your hands on my life, on my family, on my bank account?
Get your fiery darts out of here!
Who do you think you’re messing with?!!
Bow down!
Christ alone is the corner stone.
Focus on your favor!
God’s about to send people to help you with the things you couldn’t do on your own.
Favor comes to your body.
Supernatural ideas…
The rain is coming…
Don’t stop the rain from hitting.
May is the month of grace.
A May-zing grace.
Expect a miracle everyday this month.
And a couple of checks from the enemy mixed in for the stuff he tried to steal.
[Crowd enthused]
That’s the sound of midnight.
Even though we’re in prison I’m going to bless the Lord.
The prisoners heard it.
I want you to know your bondage is not for you; it’s for your coworkers and the people around you…
Who need God to do a miracle in their lives.
Immediately the foundation of the prison was shaking.
There’s a praise that will shake the foundation…
Of the thing the enemy wants to hold you hostage in.
You can’t give a casual praise.
Can I trust you to praise Me at midnight when you can’t see Me?
Fight in faith.
1 Timothy 6:12
Find a friend you can trust in the middle of your midnight.
It’s too many attacks; I’m tired of it.
That means the breakthrough is somewhere close by.
Lord You healed my son once, You can do it again.
When you begin to fight in faith your faith rises up even more.
The punches you throw make you stronger.
Greater is He that’s in me than he that’s in the world.
In the middle of midnight morning breaks out.
Your life won’t always be tears and trials and struggles.
Your turn is tonight.
Your turn is now.
Once upon a midnight.
Get in your spirit that 2 men praising God got everybody in the prison free.
Is there a praise in this church that will believe God for the breakthrough?
If you can find 2 people in your row everybody gets the blessing.
Keep praising God.
Keep declaring His word.
All the prisoners were freed whether they wanted it or not.
Your cousin who won’t come to church…
The taste of drugs is leaving their body.
They’re not even praising but because you’re praising God’s coming.
If you believe it give God a great praise.
[Prayer]
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