The Midnight Cry by Apostle Johnson Suleman: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

If you have your Bible, Matthew 25:1-12. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom: five were wise, five were foolish. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. At midnight there was a cry made, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him." Those who had no oil asked the wise to share theirs, but the wise sent them to go and buy for themselves, lest there not be enough for both. While they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, "Lord, Lord, open to us." But he answered, "Verily I say unto you, I know you not."

We are considering the midnight cry, and it is important that we examine these verses closely, to see what revelation they hold for how our lives as believers can become better.

The Kingdom Of God Versus The Kingdom Of Heaven

Scripture uses "kingdom of God" and "kingdom of heaven" interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. The kingdom of God means the King in His domain. Once you are born again, the King has come into your life, and you now represent Him on earth, that has become your own territory, your own jurisdiction. There is a pattern of life, a lifestyle, expected of royalty.

Virginity As Total Consecration

The virgins in the text represent a contest of consecration. You cannot be a kingdom child and live a polluted life. Your concentration, your consecration, is based on the God factor, developed through intimacy, proximity, and alignment with Him.

Backsliding is always gradual. It begins with a thought. Consider Samson. The moment we always reference is when his hair was cut, but that was not when his power actually left him. It left him gradually, because three things guaranteed his standing as a Nazarite: he would not drink strong drink, he would not touch a dead animal, and his hair would not be cut. The first two covenants were broken in the middle of what looked like celebration, first at his friend's wedding, and again when he killed a lion. What looked like a testimony to onlookers was actually a violation.

Some things men applaud you for are things God is grieved by. Some men celebrate you for the very thing that offends God.

• Total consecration means being set apart, different from the world.
• There is a culture in God that keeps a believer unspotted, according to James 1:27.
• This world is not being made a better place. It is you who must run from what would defile you.

When Joseph was in Potiphar's wife's room and saw sin before him, he did not speak in tongues. He spoke to his legs, and he ran. There are times to speak in tongues, and there are times to speak to your legs. You do not pray and fast over what you should simply run from. You do not intercede over what you should cut yourself off from.

The Meaning Of Circumcision For A Consecrated Life

Scripture uses the picture of circumcision for the consecrated believer, and circumcision teaches four things:

• Something is cut off. If you are truly consecrated, what have you cut off? When you are born again, your circle of friends will change, because you can no longer occupy the same space, discuss the same things, or reason the same way.
• It is painful. If anyone tells you that serving God is easy, they are lying to you. The Bible calls it a cross that must be carried.

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Apostle Johnson Suleman
Omega Fire Ministries International
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Power Versus Authority

David had several dimensions of oil. In 1 Samuel 16:13 he was anointed in the midst of his brethren, yet David was not a legitimate son, born out of wedlock, as he confesses in Psalm 51:5. That is why in 1 Samuel 16:11, when Samuel asked Jesse if these were all his sons, Jesse did not call David, because he was not counted among the legitimate children. There was a stigma following David; his brothers taunted him and did not accept him as one of their own. Yet he was anointed three separate times, in 2 Samuel 2:4 as king of Judah, and in 2 Samuel 5:3 as king over all Israel, while Saul, in 1 Samuel 10:1, was anointed only once. Oil operates at different levels.

Grace is authority. The oil of God is power. A police uniform represents authority, when an officer says "stop," it is the authority of government speaking through him. But authority alone, without the power to back it, is not enough. That is why when men questioned Jesus, "by what authority do you cast out devils," God gives authority, but He also gives power, because there are forces that will question authority that has no power behind it.

Psalm 92:10 says my head shall I anoint with fresh oil, and my eye shall see my desire. What comes upon the head determines what the eye sees.

Days Of Spiritual Low

The bridegroom tarried, and all slumbered and slept. In our walk with God there are days of spiritual low, but we must guard against staying there. Elijah, a man who called down literal fire from heaven, reached that point and sat under a tree, wanting to die, after Jezebel threatened his life. Elijah was a temperamental, secretive man; he did not even tell his own assistant he was about to be taken up to heaven. When he cried out to die, God did not abandon him. God does not move; when we draw near, He is near, and when we go far, He is still exactly where He is.

God's answer to Elijah was to send him to anoint Hazael, to anoint Jehu, and to anoint Elisha in his place; what Elijah carried was too heavy for one person, it needed three. Emotion, financial struggle, and the weight of experience can dictate to us in seasons like this, and in those seasons we slumber.

Oil Without Consecration

The foolish virgins, having no oil, asked the wise for some, and the wise sent them out to buy genuine oil rather than borrow it. That means there were people outside the parable who had oil, but were not virgins, they were selling it. A brother can have oil and lead worship powerfully and still not be consecrated. A sister can take the microphone and see heaven come down while living a compromised life. Accurate scripture on the lips is not proof of intimacy with God, even Satan quoted scripture to Christ in the wilderness. We must test the fruit, not just the gift.

Never check your intimacy with God by the accuracy of your gift. Check it by your walk with Him. Do not mistake the mercy of God for His approval.

Loving God When There Is Nothing To Gain

The real question is whether you would still serve God this way if things were good, if alternatives presented themselves. It is easy to call on Him when there is no other option. Power is a function of intimacy with God, not merely of calling or gifting. When God withdraws grace and everywhere feels dry, that is a call to return to Him, not a signal to keep performing. It is an error to enjoy divine backing while you have strayed from Him; continuing to see manifestations while walking away from His alignment can be a dangerous deception.

The midnight cry is for alignment. The midnight cry is for intimacy. It is an awakening calling you to examine yourself before the Master comes.

We do not avoid sin merely out of fear of consequence. Fear alone can be out-strategized by the enemy, a man who avoids adultery only because he fears being caught can still be given a way to hide it. But when it is about loving God, as Joseph said in Genesis 39:9, "I will not do this great wickedness and sin against God," that love makes greed, covetousness, and every offered bribe mean nothing to you.

Prayer

Can I pray for you? You will not return to your vomit.

There are people who love God passionately but are battling a weakness at the edge of their spiritual growth, a weakness that keeps taking you back to square one just when you feel closest to Him. If that is you, come and kneel at the altar now, and God will take that weakness from you and give you His strength instead.

• God, save my soul.
• I know my Redeemer lives, and I know He is not far from me.
• I will do anything just to see You and behold You as my King.
• I want to be where You are.

Father, for everyone kneeling before You, let this become their strength and no longer their weakness. From today, let them master what has mastered them. Help them walk in intimacy with You, in union and alignment with You, and show Yourself strong on their behalf, drawing them close to Yourself, in Jesus' name.

Rise, shine, your light has come. There is fresh oil for those who have prayed, who have fasted, who have called on God, oil that will make your face to shine. To get the best of God, we must receive the last of what He is releasing.