Astonishing Acts part 2
Notes
Transcript
Unshackled
Unshackled
Bible Passage: Acts 12:1-16
Bible Passage: Acts 12:1-16
Good morning, I am so glad to be here with you praising the Lord today. We are going to be in Acts chapter 12, if you have your bibles this morning. Let’s begin with a word of prayer
Pray
Have you even been in a place in your life where you were completely powerless? Not just having a hard time, but utterly powerless. Life can be unpredictable and eventually we all find out that we do not have all the answers. We will inevitably find ourselves in a place where we have no control. You may have had health crisis where you were uncertain about your health or the health of a loved one. You were waiting on answers but had no control of the outcome. You may have had and unexpected loss and have no way to fill that space that is left in your life. You could be suffering the consequences of a bad decision you have made... or from bad decisions others have made that have boxed you in and it seems like there is nothing you can do on your own to make the situation better. We have seen recently natural disasters that create chaos and radically affect lives of those around us. In those moments we realize just how little control we have over the things we own. And we could look at countless other things that could bring us to the point where we realize we no longer have the ability to change the outcome on our own. Have you ever been there? Are you there now?
These places are difficult for me. I struggle with the idea of not being able to change things. But sometimes, we have no control, we are powerless.
But these are exactly the times in our life, the times where we feel most powerless, these are the time that we become fully dependent on God. Faith is tested in times like these. In our weakness we realize how strong our God is. So if you have ever felt powerless, if you feel powerless right now, you are not alone.
The bible is filled with people just like us, who found themselves in situations that were beyond their ability to influence the outcome. We are going to look in Acts chapter 12 this morning to see Peter in this kind of situation. Let’s look at verse one...
About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread.
The persecution of the church in Jerusalem was heating up. Saul became a Christian, but there were many enemies that took his place. One of them was Herod. We see that name a few time in the bible and they are not all the same person. This is Herod Agrippa the first. He is a grandson of the Herod we all know from the Christmas story, the one who ordered the execution of the children in Bethlehem. This Herod covered basically the same area as his grandfather and was installed by Rome as a figurehead king while Rome did all of the actual ruling. He was very popular because he was at least partly Jewish and he leaned into the rituals and celebrations of the law. He was known for trying to stay popular and win over the favor of the people. So when the leaders in Jerusalem made the church their adversary, Herod found an easy target to win political points. In just a few word, the writer Luke give us some heartbreaking news. “He (Herod) killed James the brother of John with the sword.” James one of the twelve disciples of Jesus had been executed, martyred for his faith. James was in the inner circle. How often do you see in the gospels, Peter, James and John together with Jesus? Now James has been put to death. Herod see how much the people in Jerusalem like this and so he goes after another prominent speaker in the church and he arrests Peter.
This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
Herod wanted to make another big show of another high profile execution, but he was stuck with the time of Passover. He would have to wait until after the feast to make his move. Remember, he was popular because he was supportive of theses celebrations and Jewish traditions. He didn’t want to jeopardize that. So he held Peter captive until he could execute him after the feast.
Herod was not taking any chances. He had four squads of soldiers guarding him. Each squad had 4 soldiers, so there were a total of 16 soldiers tasked with keeping Peter in jail. Most likely, each set of four would be on guard in 6 hour shifts. They would have had Peter chained between two of them and two to guard the doors.
Notice the two things happening at once. Peter is sealed up tight in the prison - but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. Peter stays, the church prays. We are going to talk about the prayer here in a moment, but let’s first focus on the prison.
Peter is powerless. He no longer has control over what happens to him from here on out. He sits, chained between two guards, with no hope of escape. Mourning the loss of his friend James, he knows the next hours will hold the same fate for him. So how would you handle this situation? Death waits for you in the morning. You are experiencing your last moments on earth. What do you do with that time? Let’s see how Peter dealt with the stress of that impending doom:
Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.
We find Peter asleep. I don’t know about you, but when I feel powerless, when the stress starts to mount, the first thing I lose is sleep. Here, Peter is resting in what seems to be his biggest problem yet. Death looms, but he has Peace in the middle of the Problem.
Peter’s demeanor here shows us a lot about where his confidence lay. As we unpack the rest of the passage, I don’t think that Peter is thinking about rescue. He is completely at peace with whatever he will face. If death is the next step in his journey, than he is ready to face it and step into the reward of eternity. He is at peace because he knows that Herod may be the king of this jail cell, but Peter know the King of kings. He is at peace because he knows that when he is at his most powerless, most vulnerable, that God is still in complete control. He is at peace because even though he cannot change his circumstances, he knows the One who can.
We can have peace in the middle of our problems as well. This kind of peace comes from confidence. When we have confidence in God’s plan for us, even when it does not make sense, we can experience peace. When we have confidence in God’s plan for us, even when we have to walk difficult roads, we can experience peace.
I just love that we see Peter resting in the confidence that God is in control. Whether that means death or rescue for him, he trusted God to have the answers.
And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” And he went out and followed him.
God does not always answer in supernatural fashion, but it is important to know that sometimes he does. James had just been martyred and Peter would to, just not today. Today God sent an angel to deliver Peter from Herod’s scheme. This is an incredible portion of scripture. A creature from the spiritual world is sent by God and changes very real things in this world. This angel appears in a locked room guarded by two outside and two inside. He arrives without having to open any doors and without making any noise that would walk up the others. Then we see a light in the dark. The angel physically touches Peter. The command is to get up quickly and the chains that bound him to the soldiers fell off. He was given a command to get up and then given the means to do so as he was freed from the chains. The next instruction seems important. Get dressed and put your shoes on. We are getting ready to go and you need to be ready. Once up and dressed, he was told wrap up in his cloak and follow.
Peter follows the directions. I think it is important for us to remember to Keep Following the Directions when we find ourselves in a place beyond our control. Don’t use problems as an excuse to to the wrong thing. God has given us the ultimate guide to life and it is still important even when we find ourselves in the middle of a problem. Stay true to God’s Word.
He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
It took Peter a while to realize the reality of the situation. He thought he was seeing a vision as he slept. The angel guides Peter out of the prison leaving the two guards behind them and passing the other two on the way out. They reach the outer gate completely undetected. The heavy iron gate opens as the approach and they escape into the night. It was after the angel leaves him that Peter understands what has happened. He has been miraculously delivered from Herod’s plans.
This is important for us. Whenever we feel powerless, we need to Remember that God is Active
I think it is hard for us to see what God is doing while we are in the middle of the story. Just like Peter didn’t understand what was happening until the deliverance was complete, we have a hard time seeing all the things God is doing in our lives. Even though we can’t always see it, God is active. He is sovereignly ruling. He is constantly keeping His promises. He is active in drawing people closer to Himself and He is working in your life as we speak. We cannot always see it, but God is always active. After experiencing his own deliverance, Peter says “now I am sure.” Now I can see what God has done on my behalf.
Let’s look really quickly at the other side of this story.
When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.
For what could have been days leading up to this and throughout the whole angelic encounter, the church has been praying for Peter. They have been asking God to intervene. When we find ourselves in places where we have no control, there is one thing we can always do, we can always pray. God has given us this thing that cannot be taken away and is always available to us. A direct way to communicate with God Himself. And the church has been praying all through the night.
I think one of the most powerful things we can do as a congregation in pray together. Find yourself some prayer buddies and pray for each other. Get together with church folks and pray for God to use this church. Pray for God to pour out His blessings on us and that we could see amazing things in this place as He changes lives.
Persistent Prayer is Powerful - it is powerful because on the other end of our communication is an all powerful God. And He wants us to engage with Him through prayer. He wants us to ask Him to intervene. In our prayers, however, we acknowledge the sovereignty of God. James was executed, Peter was delivered. God answers our prayers while maintaining His sovereignty over His creation. Jesus gives us the example - God, here is my request, nevertheless not my will but Yours be done.
The church was praying and unknown to them at the moment God had answered.
And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!” But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed.
This is by far the funniest part of this whole event. Peter goes to John’s mom’s house where a large group had met to pray. The church is meeting in homes all over the city, and Peter knew he would find the church there. This is the same John Mark who we will meet more in depth later in the Book of Acts. He was Barnabas’ cousin and the writer of the Gospel of Mark. His mother’s home was a place the church could gather. Imagine Rhoda had heard them praying all night for Peter, more likely she was praying too. when all of a sudden there is a knock at the door in the middle of the night. She goes to see who it is and recognizes Peter by his voice. And then this is what makes me laugh, she gets so excited, she leaves him outside.
Everyone thinks she has lost her mind. It’s late you must be delirious. But she was sure and kept bugging them. All the while Peter is just standing outside like, guys? are you going to let me in?
They finally give in and check and, sure enough, Peter is standing out there wrapped up in his cloak. It is interesting to me that when they saw Peter they were amazed. First they had disbelief - it is not Peter - and then when they saw him amazement. I mean, I understand that it was an amazing event, but it is what they are praying for, isn’t it?
It makes me think about how I pray sometimes. Do I pray expectantly? When we pray, are we expecting to see God move? I believe that we need to pray for big things that really matter and pray expecting to see God move and work. Especially when we find ourselves in a place where we have no power, where we are fully dependent on God, we should pray expectantly to the only One who can make a real difference.
James is martyred, Peter is set free, and God is in control in both situations. This doesn’t make sense if we believe that this life is all there is. It only makes sense when we understand the truth that it just keeps getting better from here. That God is preparing us now for the life to come. He has us both here and in the next life as well. He is still in control.
So we should pray like God is in control.
We will all go through times in our lives where we will need to be fully dependent on God. When we find ourselves powerless, when we have no control, lets find peace in the middle of the problems, lets remember that God is always active, and lets be persistent in powerful prayer.
I really believe that God wants to do great things here. That He wants to use this group of people to make an incredible difference in this world.
Let’s all bow our heads and close our eyes for a moment. As the musicians come forward, lets spend some time praying together. You can pray right where you are, you can ask someone to pray with you and come forward to pray up here. If you need the hear about starting a relationship with Jesus or take the next step of baptism or joining the church, we would love to talk you through those things as well. As we sing, you respond how God is prompting you to. Lets pray...
