The Hymns Sung in Prison at Midnight Acts 16:25-26, NIV 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 everybody's chains came loose. I would like to share the grace of God under the title, "The Hymns Sung in Prison at Midnight." Please repeat after me, "The Hymns Sung in Prison at Midnight." In this short life on earth, where can you find joy? What is your hope? What is your true happiness? If we want to look for them in worldly things, we will be frustrated even more than before. The only hope we can find is Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus Christ is our only hope. He is the way and the truth and the life. No matter how rich you are, no matter how great your position, and no matter how well educated you are, if you do not have Jesus, it all comes to nothing. Worldly things have some meaning only in Jesus. We can have true blessings and victory in the world-only when we remain in Jesus. Apostle Paul left the most remarkable achievements in Christian history. However, before meeting Jesus, he had thought that keeping the Law was the best thing he could do in serving God. Because of his zeal to keep the Law, he persecuted Christians. He wanted to destroy the Church. He was a witness when Stephen was stoned to death, giving approval to his death. He dragged off Christians and put them in prison. He took letters from the high priest so that he might take Christians as prisoners to Jerusalem. However, he met Jesus on the way to Damascus on his journey. Suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him, and he fell to the ground. His destiny was completely changed at that moment. He found true hope in Jesus, realizing that Jesus was the true Savior. After meeting with Jesus, he was completely changed. He devoted himself fully to Jesus throughout his life until he was beheaded. He wrote many New Testament books. He built many churches. He preached the Gospel in many places during his three missionary journeys. Today's Scripture speaks about what happened at Philippi on Paul's second missionary journey. I want to talk about the spiritual lessons in this Scripture. Paul was preaching the Gospel in Philippi. There was a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. This girl knew that Paul and Silas were servants of God so she followed them, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God." Since she kept doing this, Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her. She could not tell fortunes any more. The owners of the slave girl lost their hope of making money through her, so they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the magistrates. The owners provoked the crowed to attack Paul and Silas. Paul and Silas were falsely flogged and put into prison, even though they did nothing wrong. All they did was to drive out the evil spirit from the slave girl. They were flogged and put into prison without having a chance to defend themselves. Sometimes we are plunged into despair, problems, and difficult situations. What should we do in times of trouble? Even though Paul and Silas were falsely beaten and thrown into prison, according to the Bible, they prayed and sang hymns to God about midnight. Hallelujah! I pray that you will have such great faith. I pray that you will be blessed by God even when you are in trouble, so that you will pray and sing hymns to Him. What kinds of hymns would they have sung? First, they sang hymns of hope. They sang hymns of hope in their prison of hopelessness. Since they had the faith to march forward with holy dreams in the Lord despite their troublesome and difficult situation, they sang hymns of hope. Acts 16:25 says, "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them." Paul and Silas were in prison, severely flogged and beaten by the crowd. There were other prisoners, probably cruel and violent, who had been there for some time. Customarily, they would torment or beat up new prisoners. However, the new prisoners were different. Even though they were all flogged, they did not look like ordinary people. Then the new prisoners began to pray and sing hymns to God. It touched other prisoners. They wondered, "Who are these people who pray and praise God so peacefully even though they have been severely flogged?" They would have yelled at or beaten up those who made noise around midnight. This time, however, they were listening to their hymns. When you pray and praise out of distress, people around you will watch you. They will say, "How can they pray and sing hymns in the midst of problems without being shaken? Christians are different. We should believe in Jesus, too." Hallelujah! They prayed and praised about midnight. Night signifies hopelessness. Since it is dark at night, we cannot see well, so we are likely to fall at night. We would feel cramped since nothing looks clear. Even when such a night of hopelessness and problems comes to you, pray and praise the Lord. According to the Old Testament, Daniel faced a dreadful situation. The king published a decree saying that anyone who prayed to any god or man, except to the king, should be thrown into the lions' den. Even though Daniel knew this very well, he was not afraid. He got down on his knees and prayed to his God. Daniel 6:10 says, "Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before." Even though he was supposed to be arrested and put into the lions' den, Daniel gave thanks to his God. A person who has a dream and hope can give thanks to God in any dreadful situation. So Daniel was thrown into the lions' den, but the lions did not hurt him at all. Daniel slept comfortably on the back of the lions-on a fur carpet. At the first light of dawn, the king called to Daniel. The king lifted him out of the den. At the king's command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were thrown into the lions' den and were killed. As long as we have hope, we can sing hymns even in the prison of hopelessness or in the prison of problems. Even when we are attacked by a serious disease, even when we have severe problems at home, or even when we have critical financial problems and are bewildered by such problems, we can sing hymns as long as we have hope. Psalm 42:5 says, "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior." Put your hope in God. Hold on to the Lord of hope. We will yet praise Him, our Savior. Hallelujah! Viktor Frankl was a famous Austrian Jewish psychiatrist. He was a Holocaust survivor. He was sent to a concentration camp by the Nazis during World War II. He survived the concentration camp of hopelessness by holding on to hope. After the war, as a psychiatrist, he wrote the book, Man's Search for Meaning, analyzing the cases in the concentration camp. He wrote in his book, "I realized one thing from my experience in the concentration camp where people fought hopelessness. The Holocaust survivors survived-not because they were healthier or in a better condition than others. All the survivors had one thing in common: they had hope. They were determined to come out of the camp and to meet their beloved family. Since they had a reason and hope to survive, they did not give up, and thus, they survived." He gave this illustration. A very famous composer was at the same camp with Viktor Frankl. One day he came and said, "I had a dream a few days ago. A person appeared in my dream and told me to ask him anything I wanted to know. So I asked him when the war would end. He said it would end on March 30. It will be over soon. We will be free!" He was extremely excited. He was anxiously waiting for March 30. This had happened in early March. He restlessly waited for his release and freedom at the end of March. However, nothing happened even around the end of March. On March 29, the composer collapsed with a high fever. He became unconscious, mumbling incoherent words, and died on the following day. The cause of his death was epidemic typhus. Viktor Frankl said, "When the man had hope, his body had a working immune system, fighting the germs of epidemic typhus, even if the germs entered into his body. As soon as he lost hope, because he could not see the end of the war coming at the end of March, he despaired. He was deeply frustrated and lost hope. Then the immune system in his body failed to function properly so that the epidemic typhus seized him and killed him." As long as we have hope, as long as we have dreams, the Lord will help us to overcome all problems. I urge you to hold on to hope no matter how hard things are or no matter what kind of problems you are facing. What is hope? Jesus Christ is our hope. I pray that you will hold on to Him to the end. Emil Brunner, a well known theologian, said, "What oxygen is to the lungs, such is hope to the meaning of life." It is true. As oxygen comes into our lungs when we breathe, making our bodies healthy, when we breathe in hope, it will renew and strengthen our spiritual lives. Losing hope means death. When hopelessness occupies your heart, things are over. When you have problems in your home, do not look at the problems. Concentrate on the Lord instead. When we look at the problems, they will become more hopeless. Do not lose hope even when your business has totally gone down. You can always start over. Do not despair in hopelessness even when you have lost your job. You can have another one. If not, you can start your own business. Have dreams in your heart. God will do marvelous things for you. Do not worry too much about your children's SAT test. They will do their best. So pray so that they will do their best. Going to a prestigious college does not guarantee your children's happiness. As long as they have steadfast faith in Jesus, God will take care of them, abundantly blessing them. Hallelujah! Look unto the Lord. Have hope in Him. Have dreams in Him. I urge you to march forward with faith, holding on to the Cross of the Lord. Paul and Silas sang hymns of hope. Second, they sang hymns of victory. Acts 16:26 says, "Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose." When Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns, God was impressed by them and shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. Praise has wonderful power-the power of victory. No matter what kind of prison you may be put in, no matter what kind of problems and trouble may be blocking you, or no matter what kind of diseases may be binding you, if you pray, praise, and give thanks to God, God will shake the foundation of the prison. He will open all the doors for you. He will loosen all the chains that are binding you. God will resolve all your problems. March forward with absolute positive thanksgiving unto the Lord. Then victory will be yours. Miracles will be yours. Blessings will be yours. There is great victory in the Lord. The Lord Jesus, who has overcome the world, is with us now. John 16:33 says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." "I have overcome the world." The Lord Jesus, who has overcome the world, is with us now. When you face problems, pain, or sorrow, and when evil spirits bother you, praise the Lord. Then all the power of darkness will be driven away. Evil spirits came and tormented King Saul. Since he was disobedient, doing things that he was not supposed to do, God judged him. When David praised God with his harp, the evil spirits left Saul. 1 Samuel 16:23 says, "Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him." When we praise God every day, evil spirits will be driven away from us. Worry, trouble, and anxiety will leave us. Negative thoughts will leave you. The bad memories and wounds from your past will also leave you. Is there a time when you cannot pray? Then praise God. Praise is prayer with a melody. Is there a time when you do not have the strength to praise? Then listen to praise CDs and sing along. God will pour His grace upon you. In 2 Chronicles 20, there is a story about a war. In the days of king Jehoshaphat of Judah, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to make war on Jehoshaphat. Judah was not prepared for the war. Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord. God spoke to them through a prophet. 2 Chronicles 20:17 says, "You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you." Our God Almighty is with us in our spiritual warfare against the devil. Our Commander is Jesus Christ. Since Jesus goes ahead of us, we will win every battle. Jehoshaphat was so certain of their victory that he did a marvelous and unprecedented thing. He organized a choir, put robes on them, and let them go at the head of the army. The most valiant soldiers are supposed to be at the head of the army. But in Jehoshaphat's army, the unarmed choir singers in robes were at the head. People must have laughed at them. Their enemies might have said, "Look at them. Is this a trick? Are they doing some kind of a show?" However, when they began to sing and praise, the Lord performed wonderful things. The enemy was destroyed by the mighty hand of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 20:22 says, "As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated." When they sang and praised, God set ambushes against their enemies. The enemies killed each other. They were totally destroyed. When the men of Judah came to the place, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground. There was so much plunder that it took them three days to collect it. They took enormous plunder without even fighting a battle. Praise is a powerful weapon to drive away the devil. We sing praises, being certain of our victory. Therefore, praise the Lord when you are depressed or when things are difficult. Give thanks to the Lord. Give glory to Him. Victory will be yours. The following is a testimony of Pearl Buck, a Nobel Prize winner. She won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938. When she was little, her parents were missionaries in China. One day her father was out of town. Her mother, Caroline, was doing her needlework by the window when she heard her Chinese neighbors speaking. They said, "Since those Westerners brought a Western god, our god is mad. That is why we are having such a severe drought. Let us raid their house tonight and get rid of them." She was startled to hear that. Her husband was on a missionary journey, and so she and the children were alone. She prayed fervently, and the Holy Spirit gave her confidence. She prepared refreshments and waited for them. The Chinese swarmed to their house in the evening. She greeted them with smiles and offered them refreshments. They had come to kill the missionary, but his wife was greeting them with kindness. They did not know what to do. Caroline sat at the organ and sang hymns in Chinese. Her hymns were so beautiful that the Chinese glanced at one another and left the house one after another. Her praises brought this victory. Hallelujah! Let us give glory to God. The Lord dwells in our praises. Psalm 22:3 says, "Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel." When we sing praises, we should sing them not only with our mouth but also with all our heart and mind. The Lord dwells in our praises. He will receive glory through our praises. He will manifest His grace and miracles through our praises. When you are lonely, sad, and troubled, sing praises to the Lord. Your praises will become your prayers with a melody, bringing the marvelous grace of God. When you feel you are forsaken and left alone, praise the Lord. You will know the Lord is with you. Ephesians 5:19-20 says, "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Thanksgiving and praise are like two sides of a coin. They come together. When you praise, you give thanks. When you give thanks, you praise. When we praise and give thanks, we will receive great victory. C. H. Spurgeon, a great English preacher, said, "Anybody can sing at daylight. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but the skillful singer is the one who can sing when there is not a ray of light to read by." This is true. A real song is the song that you sing when you cannot sing. True praise is the one you praise out of utter hopelessness. Psalm 50:15 says, "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me." No matter what happens, give thanks to God and praise Him. Victory will be yours. Miracles and blessings are yours. When Paul and Silas sang hymns of hope and victory, salvation was upon the people. Third, they sang hymns of salvation. When there was an earthquake, the jailor woke up and saw the prison doors open. In those days, if a prisoner escaped, the jailor was put to death instead of the prisoner. So the jailor drew his sword and was going to kill himself. Acts 16:27 says, "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." Paul shouted to stop him. Acts 16:28 says, "But Paul shouted, 'Don't harm yourself! We are all here!' " The jailor must have realized that Paul and Silas were not ordinary people, even when they were in prison. So he rushed in and fell before them. Acts 16:29-30 says, "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?' " When jailors treated prisoners, they did not treat them with respect. They may have used bad, harsh language. Watching a great miracle that night, the jailor was seized with awe and knelt before them-the prisoners. He even called them sirs. He asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" What is the most important question in our life of hopelessness? What should we do to be saved? What should we do to come out of the place of hopelessness? What should we do to be freed from problems? What should we do to live righteously, without committing grave sins? What should we do to patch things up in our destroyed homes? No other power or means can bring us salvation except the power of the Lord Jesus. Only Jesus can resolve the problems in our lives. Acts 16:31 says, "They replied, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household.' " Hallelujah! You will be saved-you and your household. Upon hearing this message, the jailor and all his family received the Lord Jesus. All of them were baptized. Acts 16:33-34 says, "At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family 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 family." What do we have to do to be saved? The Scripture says that we have to believe in Jesus. How can we come out of utmost hopelessness? Trust in the Lord Jesus. Hold on to Him. Approach Him. Kneel down before Him and pray to Him. John 14:6 says, "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' " I urge you to believe in Jesus who is the way and the truth and the life. Trust in Him. March forward with faith in Him. There is no other way. Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. Acts 4:12 says, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household. Our whole family will be saved when one of us believes in Jesus. You may be the only one who believes now, but God is going to save all of your family by sending you as a missionary to your home. Do not despair even if your family does not believe now. When the time comes, your husband or wife, your parents, your relatives, and even your distant relatives will come to believe in Jesus. Therefore, we must make every effort to lead them to the Lord. We must pray and preach the Gospel to them, saying, "Believe in Jesus and let us go to heaven together. Believe in Jesus. Jesus is the only way to salvation." Hallelujah! Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household. Our household will be blessed because of us. Our community will be blessed because of us. Our country will be blessed because of us. Pastor Grundtvig was a great leader who changed the history of Denmark. He was a pastor, poet, teacher, and politician. He is called the Father of Danish Revival. Today's country leaders still review his works as they plan revivals in their country. When Denmark was in a hopeless situation, Grundtvig claimed that they could establish a great country, only when they had revolution on their minds. He started an enlightenment movement. Since Denmark had lost in the war against Germany, they lost the most fertile land and were fined with huge war compensation. The leftover land was like a wilderness with strong sea wind. All they had on their land were sand, rocks, and weeds. The Danish government was totally crushed. Their Central Bank was bankrupted. Since the Danish people were left hopeless in such a devastating situation, they began to drink a lot. Then Grundtvig started a campaign to change their minds, calling for a revolution in their minds. He built schools to educate people. He set up a slogan, "Love God. Love our neighbors. Love our land." With the spirit of these "three loves," he changed the Danes. The Danes came to love God. They came to love their neighbors, and they came to love their country. So Denmark began to develop marvelously. All the churches taught agricultural techniques to people, contributing to set up a strong and wealthy country through their advanced agricultural techniques. They export tulips. Danish tulips make up most of the tulips in the world. When Pastor Grundtvig, one person, stood up and spread wonderful hope and dreams to other people, all the Danish churches changed. Denmark changed. He is still highly respected as the leader who helped to make a strong and wealthy country. This is true. Even if we are poor, under a curse, and loaded with problems, when we march forward with dreams and hope in the Lord, God will save us. He will pour His marvelous grace upon us. There was no church or believers in Philippi. How did Paul and Silas build a church there? After they praised the Lord at midnight, the jailor and his family believed in Jesus. His family and Lydia's family cooperated to build a church there. The church of Philippi became a precious church which supported Paul in his missionary work. The church is recorded in our Bible so that people will remember it forever. Such fruit was not automatically given. Paul and Silas were thrown into prison after being falsely flogged and beaten. There, they praised the Lord with hymns of thanksgiving, hymns of hope, hymns of victory, and hymns of salvation. The church at Philippi was built as a result of the fruit. Therefore, no matter what kind of problem you may encounter, praise the Lord in the prison of suffering. Pray and give thanks to God. Have holy dreams. March forward with faith. Victory will be yours. Miracles will be yours. Blessings will be yours. Let us pray. Our Heavenly Father of infinite love, grace, and mercy, we give thanks to You. Who are we that You love us so much? You delivered us from the prison of hopelessness and pain. We thank You for helping us to praise and give glory to You out of hopelessness. We want to have holy dreams in You and sing hymns of hope. We want to trust in the power of Your Cross and sing hymns of victory. Lord, we want to sing hymns of salvation through Jesus, the only way to salvation. Pour Your grace upon us in times of trouble so that we will receive solutions to our problems, experiencing Your miracles. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.