It's Time to BREAK OUT

Introduction

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to work as a Correctional Officer. Being a correctional officer all of my duties and job requirements surrounds the key requirement of keeping convict felons in prison and not escaping back into society before they had served their time. This is because the had supposedly committed crimes that justified their imprisonment. I say supposedly because we also have a justice system who will incarcerate you without having all the facts, esspecially when I was taught all are assumed innocent, unless proven guilty but I’ll leave that right there.

As I was led out of this memory, the Lord gave me the word that many of us are in this state. We have allowed ourselves to be chained and bound to a place of confinement. To be confined as a verb is to restrained or forbidden from leaving. As a noun, Confine is the borders or boundaries of a place, especially with regard to their restricting freedom of movement. In other words, confinement is keeping someone bound restrained in a place where there is little freedom of movement. It’s sad to realize that some of our churches and individuals in our churches are in this position right now. They are confined by certain beliefs, ideologies, and ways. Individuals are confined by self-doubt, self-pity, and sin. But God sent me by here to tell somebody that you do not have to be bound any longer. God sent me by here to tell you that the chains can be broken this morning. Yes brothers and sisters, I’ve come to inform you that it’s time to break out!!!

Background

Our text today is found in the Acts of the Apostles. This book outlines the history of the early church as worked through the Apostles of Jesus Christ. This morning our text is found in the 12th Chapter of this book and as I open in text, the first thing I find is that one of the sons of Zebedee, by the name of James, have been killed for the sake of Christ and now because the Jews were impressed and well-pleased by the martyr of James, Herod Agrippa has furthered his reach with plans to kill Peter following the Passover.

It is unclear why Herod decides to delay Peter’s trial and execution but possible reasons come to mind. First, the trial might fall on a Sabbath. In the list of the Jewish holidays, Passover was meant to be celebrated the fourteenth day of the first month with the Feast of Unleavened Bread celebrated a full week starting the next day. The first and last days of the Feast are holiday Sabbaths, wherein no work is to be done (Leviticus 23:4–8). In time, the terms "Passover" and "Feast of Unleavened Bread" began to be synonymous, representing all eight days. But in all those eight days, only the second and eighth would be holy Sabbaths, along with whichever weekly Sabbath fell in the range. Agrippa would have had plenty of other days to kill Peter. A second possibility is Passover clemency. On the day of Passover, Pilate offered to release one prisoner, as seen in his ill-fated attempt to save Jesus by comparing Him to the insurrectionist Barabbas (Mark 15:6–15). It's not clear if other rulers continued Pilate's act of clemency. If the pleased "Jews" of Acts 12:3 are the Sanhedrin, it's possible Agrippa waits because he doesn't want the people to demand Peter's release. The third possibility is unseemliness: avoiding a "bad image." It's more likely Agrippa waits because the entire eight-day period is a celebration of God delivering the Jews from slavery in Egypt; it would be inappropriate to host a significant execution in Jerusalem at this time. Pilate didn't care what the Jews were celebrating; he agreed to crucify Jesus because the Sanhedrin threatened trouble if he didn't (John 18:28—19:16).

Peter, my beloved brothers and sisters is now imprisoned. Peter is now confined. Yet to make matters worse, not only is he confined but he is chained hands and feet and has four squads of four men watching him around the clock.