Maintaining a winning mentality

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1.ABOUT THAT time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to afflict and oppress and torment some who belonged to the church (assembly).

2 And he killed James the brother of John with a sword;

3 And when he saw that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded further and arrested Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread [the Passover week].

4 And when he had seized [Peter], he put him in prison and delivered him to four squads of soldiers of four each to guard him, purposing after the Passover to bring him forth to the people.

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but fervent prayer for him was persistently made to God by the church (assembly).

6 The very night before Herod was about to bring him forth, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, fastened with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.

7 And suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared [standing beside him], and a light shone in the place where he was. And the angel gently smote Peter on the side and awakened him, saying, Get up quickly! And the chains fell off his hands.

8 And the angel said to him, Tighten your belt and bind on your sandals. And he did so. And he said to him, Wrap your outer garment around you and follow me.

9 And [Peter] went out [along] following him, and he was not conscious that what was apparently being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

10 When they had passed through the first guard and the second, they came to the iron gate which leads into the city. Of its own accord [the gate] swung open, and they went out and passed on through one street; and at once the angel left him.

11 Then Peter came to himself and said, Now I really know and am sure that the Lord has sent His angel and delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting [to do to me].

12 When he, at a glance, became aware of this [fcomprehending all the elements of the case], he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where a large number were assembled together and were praying.

f Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.

Anon, 1987. The Amplified Bible, La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

A fisher tale.

I love what happened yesterday…SA won. An what I saw was that everyone wants to be on the winning teams’ side. It was an amazing day for South Africa. I think that what is going to be even more important is the maintenance of this winning mentality. With Marriage, we like the wedding day, we want to continue to win, to do well…I think that the Disciples were on this winning streak....Pentecost, Miracles, the Good news spreading....its a winning streak mentality and they had a great team. But in Chapter 12....it seems as if the wheels start coming off? Is this the end of the winning streak?

Listen to this... “1.ABOUT THAT time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to afflict and oppress and torment some who belonged to the church (assembly). 2 And he killed James the brother of John with a sword; 3 And when he saw that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded further and arrested Peter also… Anon, 1987. The Amplified Bible, La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. Things were really getting rough.

Then there is what I call a Fishers’ Tale: Listen to this: “4.And when he had seized [Peter], he put him in prison and delivered him to four squads of soldiers of four each to guard him, purposing after the Passover to bring him forth to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, 6 The very night before Herod was about to bring him forth, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, fastened with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. Anon, 1987. The Amplified Bible, La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. I think that Luke was over-extending himself here a bit....telling a fish tale.

1.ABOUT THAT time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to afflict and oppress and torment some who belonged to the church (assembly).

2 And he killed James the brother of John with a sword;

4.And when he had seized [Peter], he put him in prison and delivered him to four squads of soldiers of four each to guard him, purposing after the Passover to bring him forth to the people.

5 So Peter was kept in prison,

3 And when he saw that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded further and arrested Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread [the Passover week].

But here is where we need to pause....the odds are stacked high against the disciples....they seems to be losing ground. But here is where God is at His best, when the odds are stacked high. God steps in when things are about to fall apart. It was when the Israelite was at the sea and they could almost see Pharoah and his army about to kill them when God steps in, it is when there w no more wine at the wedding when he steps in, it is when Lazarus was already dead for 4 days when Gos steps in. You see, when you are about to give in, when people tell you to curse God and die, it is when He steps in....Pauls pens these words: We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. . A winning streak has us knowing that even when things look dark, God is with us and He is going to come through for us. I think that Paul understood this. Eugene Peterson in the MESSAGE SAYS: “

6 The very night before Herod was about to bring him forth, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, fastened with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.

Anon, 1987. The Amplified Bible, La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

6  Then the time came for Herod to bring him out for the kill. That night, even though shackled to two soldiers, one on either side, Peter slept like a baby. And there were guards at the door keeping their eyes on the place. Herod was taking no chances!

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Anon, 1987. The Amplified Bible, La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;

Peterson, E.H., 2005. The Message: the Bible in contemporary language, Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.

We maintain a winning streak when we understand that even when the odds are stacked against us, God will come through.

9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

We maintain a winning streak when we understand that even when the odds are stacked against us, God will come through.

After the game yesterday, many interviews were done with Coaches and Captains: Siyo Kolisi was interviewed and listen to what he says: ""I was just grateful for everything the team has been through. We've faced a lot of challenges, but the people of South Africa have got behind us and we are so grateful. We have so many problems in our country, but to have a team like this, we come from different backgrounds, different races, and we came together with one goal and we wanted to achieve it. really hope that we've done that for South Africa to show that we can pull together if we want to achieve something." In the book of Exodus a story is being related of a winning mentality. Exodus tells this story: 10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.

"We have so many problems in our country, but to have a team like this, we come from different backgrounds, different races, and we came together with one goal and we wanted to achieve it. really hope that we've done that for South Africa to show that we can pull together if we want to achieve something."

The winning streak is attached to community..Luke says in verse 5: “So Peter was kept in prison, but fervent prayer for him was persistently made to God by the church (assembly). “ Anon, 1987. The Amplified Bible, La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. #wearestrongertogether. James speaks about the need for healing and listen to what he says....is anyone among you sick, they should call for the elders of the church, and the should pray for him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.....there confess your sins one to another and PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER SO THAT YOU MAY BE HEALED....

11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.

So Peter was kept in prison, but fervent prayer for him was persistently made to God by the church (assembly).

12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.

You see this winning streak continue.

Anon, 1987. The Amplified Bible, La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.