The Midnight Hour (Acts 16:16-40)

Three accounts of being released from bondage…

Acts 16:16-18

1) Slave girl with an evil spirit

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Her bondage is spiritual and physical

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She receives inner freedom

Acts 16:19-25

2) Paul and Silas

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Their bondage is physical

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They already have inner freedom in the midst of their bondage!

Acts 16:19-25 During World War II, Viktor Frankl was imprisoned by the Nazis because he was Jewish. His wife, children, and parents were all killed by the Nazis. At one point, the prison guards cut his wedding band off his finger…

Acts 16:19-25 “You can take away my wife and children, you can strip me of my clothes and my freedom, but there is one thing no person can ever take away from me—and that is my freedom to choose how I will react to what happens to me .” - Viktor Frankl

Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV) 11 13 “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, 12 I whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” – Apostle Paul

Acts 16:19-25 Disciplining our minds:

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Many Christians are bound up

- Bitterness - Offenses - Unforgiveness - Self-pity - Anger - Anxiety - Self-works

Acts 16:19-25

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The failure to win this battle results in a miserable Christian life!

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We must discipline ourselves as Paul and Silas did. Though physically bound, they experienced freedom Psalm 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Acts 16:26-40

2) Paul and Silas

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Their bondage is physical

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They already had inner freedom in the midst of their bondage!

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They receive physical freedom

Acts 16:26-40

3) The jailer

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Ironically, it is not Paul and Silas, but the jailer, in bondage

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His bondage is mental and spiritual

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He is horrified and is about to commit suicide

Acts 16:26-40 30 “Sirs, what must I do to be saved ?”

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sōdzō

can be translated: rescued, liberated, healed, to keep from harm, to make whole, and saved.

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“What must I do to be free?”

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He and his whole household (

oikos

) were saved

“Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)

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Trusting in Jesus regardless of circumstances or feelings

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There was no guarantee that Paul and Silas would have been released

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Our “midnight hour” is usually right before a breakthrough

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The attitude of our heart and mind

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“What must I do to be free?”