Tag Archives: midnight

ACTS THE SEQUEL…ASLEEP IN CHURCH – 50

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“On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭20‬:‭7‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Well, that was an unexpected interlude! Paul, as usual, made use of every opportunity to teach the believers, to encourage them and strengthen their faith. It didn’t matter to him whether it was day or night.

The church at Troas had gathered in an upstairs room for a meeting in the evening, not knowing that this special time with Paul would be an all-night event and would include a heart-stopping miracle in the mix. 

On and on went Paul’s teaching session, hour after hour until midnight. Some were so intrigued by his words that they listened with eager intent. One young man, sitting on a windowsill, probably mesmerised by the flickering lamps, grew so drowsy as Paul droned on that he nodded off and fell fast asleep. Unfortunately for him, his perch on the window sill offered no comfort or protection. He not only dropped off to sleep…he also dropped off his seat in the window and fell…three storeys down to be exact…onto the hard ground below. 

Pandemonium broke out. The people rushed downstairs, led by Paul. He threw himself on the lifeless body of Eutychus, calling on the name of the Lord. Then the miracle happened! Eutychus opened his eyes. He spoke. “What happened? Where am I?” He looked around, dazed and puzzled. 

The people cheered. They laughed and cried. They celebrated and rejoiced. They went back upstairs, more convinced than ever that Jesus was alive and real among them. They feasted together and listened to Paul again until daylight. Paul continued where he had left off. No one wanted to go home. 

What a night it had been! Never would the people of Troas forget this night when Jesus came in power to save the life of a young man who had fallen asleep in church!

This was such an amazing story that Luke just had to include it in his narrative about the church. 

To be continued

ACTS THE SEQUEL…STINGS AT MIDNIGHT – 37b

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…So, they did just that! They began to sing. What did they sing? The songs they knew best…David’s songs…about God…about suffering…and trust…and victory…and God’s power over their enemies.

And it worked!

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

Acts‬ ‭16‬:‭25-‭28 NIV‬‬

The other prisoners heard them singing…but they didn’t complain…they listened. 

The songs God’s prisoners sang were so powerful that they split open the prison walls…and opened the stocks…and broke the chains off the prisoners…and smashed open the doors! Wow! That shocked the prisoners so much that, instead of using the opportunity to escape, they couldn’t move. 

“The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.”

Acts‬ ‭16‬:‭29- 34‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What began as a miscarriage of justice became victory for grace  when another whole family was rescued from paganism and catapulted into the kingdom of God.

One big lesson that keeps recurring in this story, as in many of the stories in the Bible…God is always up to something. When we trust Him without collapsing into a heap of despair…disappointment…disillusionment…when we give God the space He needs to finish what He started…we will discover that He never allows random or irrelevant circumstances into our lives. Everything works according to a predetermined plan. 

What may seem crazy to us makes perfect sense to Him. Injustice is a great teacher… Retaliation is never the way of victory. It only perpetuates more anger and hatred. Jesus’ way is the way of forgiveness. Forgiveness neutralises the poison, takes the heat out of the fire, and stops the downward spiral into hell. 

So, these two men, true sons of God and followers of Jesus…turned their pain into a paean of praise…and their reward was a free pass from prison. 

This story has a second unexpected outcome…

“When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.” But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.” The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭16‬:‭35‬-‭40‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Paul used his Roman citizenship as a lever to expose the injustice they had suffered…not as retaliation but as a lesson for those who were expected to dispense justice, not tyranny. The ex-prisoners walked away from that city vindicated, heads held high, leaving behind another family of believers to join the growing church in Philippi, for their trouble. 

To be continued

THE BOOK OF ACTS – A WALKING MIRACLE

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A WALKING MIRACLE!

“They went on ahead and waited for us in Troas. Meanwhile we stayed in Philippi for Passover Week and then set sail. Within five days we were again in Troas and stayed a week.

 We met on Sunday to worship and celebrate the Master’s Supper. Paul addressed the congregation. Our plan was to leave first thing in the morning, but Paul talked on, way past midnight. We were meeting in a well-lighted upper room. A young man named Eutychus was sitting in an open window. As Paul went on and on, Eutychus fell sound asleep and toppled out the third story window. When they picked him up, he was dead.” Acts 20:5-9 (The Message).

This is such a human story! A long-winded preacher and someone falls asleep! Fortunately, not everyone who sleeps in church ends up dead!

Did Paul have a premonition that he was meeting with the church at Troas for the last time? He had so much to share with them that he forgot the time, although the plan was to leave early in the morning. Instead of having an early night, he met with the believers in an upper room, shared the Lord’s Supper with them and poured out the passion of his heart hour after hour.

While most of the congregation stayed awake, there was one who just could not keep his eyes open. Sitting on an upstairs windowsill was a precarious enough perch, but sleeping there was Eutychus’ undoing. One moment he was there and the next he was gone, lying dead on the ground below. Imagine the panic when the crowd tumbled downstairs and someone picked up his lifeless body. What a terrible end to a wonderful day!

“Paul went down, stretched himself on him, and hugged him hard ‘No more crying,’ he said. ‘There’s life in him yet.’ Then Paul got up, and served the Master’s Supper. And went on telling stories of the faith until dawn! On that note, they left — Paul went one way, the congregation another, leading the boy off alive, and full of life themselves.” Acts 20:10-12 (The Message).

Did Paul remember the story of Elisha and a widow’s dead son? What he did next was so matter-of-fact that it seems as though, for Paul, it was all in a day’s (or night’s) work. Eutychus dead? No problem. Just lie on him for a few moments and he’ll live, and that’s exactly what happened. Not even an unexpected death in the congregation made him miss a beat.

How is that for a steadfast purpose! Nothing made Paul deviate from his intention to make and build disciples at every opportunity he had, and he would not allow even a tragic accident to distract him from his mission. It almost seems as though he treated the event as an interruption which he had no problem dealing with so that he could get on with his task.

What did it mean to the small group believers at Troas? What would they remember of Paul’s last visit with them? The hours of preaching and teaching that night? Not likely. The miracle of a dead boy raised to life? O yes! What Paul was sharing with them was a vital part of their understanding of the life they had committed themselves to living with the Lord, but the walking miracle among them was a constant reminder that Jesus was alive, real and powerful for them and in them.

Was the devil in this? Most definitely, because he holds the power of death, but he never has the last word. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life and through His victory over death, Eutychus woke up to live out his allotted time. His death turned out to be a visual aid of God’s power among them which they would not easily forget. .

THE BOOK OF ACTS – ATTITUDE DETERMINES OUTCOME

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ATTITUDE DETERMINES OUTCOME

“Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn’t believe their ears. Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every door flew open, all the prisoners were loose.

“Startled from sleep, the jailer saw all the doors swinging loose on their hinges. Assuming that all the prisoners had escaped, he pulled out his sword and was about to do himself in, figuring he was as good as dead anyway, when Paul stopped him: ‘Don’t do that! We’re all still here. Nobody’s run away.'” Acts 16:25-28 (The Message).

Paul and Silas had every reason to be angry. They had been falsely accused, unjustly treated, brutally beaten without a trial, thrown into a maximum security cell and shackled in leg irons like criminals, and that for releasing a slave girl, a nobody from demonic oppression! Where was the justice in that?

They could have been just as mad at God. They were serving Jesus. They had given up everything for Him, hadn’t they? They were deserving of better treatment than that. Why did He allow it to happen to them? Why didn’t He protect them?

Can you hear your own voice mouthing these objections? The voices of your family, your friends? ‘Why me? What have I done to deserve this? Where was God in all this?’

Paul and Silas couldn’t sleep. Their backs were torn and bleeding; their legs were fastened in heavy iron shackles; the floor was cold and hard; the air was dank and smelly. They had two options — stoke the fires of anger and bitterness or pray and sing away the hours until daylight. It all depended on their attitude.

They knew that suffering was included in the package and they were also aware that, no matter how tough it was for them, Jesus suffered more. They could be angry with God, but that wouldn’t get them anywhere. The Israelites got mad when things were tough, and the consequences were not what they bargained for; God was angry and they felt it! Paul and Silas weren’t about to follow their example.

These men were steeped in the Word of God as devout Jews. It was as much part of them as their breath. They prayed it, they sang it, they lived it, every day. How natural for them, then, to fill the long, cold hours with the Word that was so precious to them! Where would they turn in their distress? To the psalms which so accurately expressed how they were feeling right then.

Others before them had suffered and trusted God, and written, prayed and sang about it for their own comfort and for the comfort of those who followed them. These two men unashamedly proclaimed their trust through the words of men who had gone before them. And the other prisoners marvelled. It was not cursing and complaining that they were hearing but praise and confidence in a God they did not know.

God also heard — and responded with earth-shaking results! How could He leave His servants in that situation when He had opportunity to show the whole jailhouse what He could do for those who trusted in Him? Would He have done the same for them had they spent their time moaning about their plight? I think not.

It’s easy to trust in God when the sun is shining and the birds are singing. Real faith is only valid when the light goes out and we can see nothing. What’s inside is only revealed under the pressure of unbearable circumstances. Why does God allow things like this to happen? He wants us to know what’s inside.

Paul and Silas passed their test with flying colours! And God gave them their reward — more freedom and greater confidence in the God who proved Himself to be utterly trustworthy.