Act 12:1-11 ASV Now about that time Herod the king put forth his hands to afflict certain of the church. (2) And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. (3) And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. And those were the days of unleavened bread. (4) And when he had taken him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him; intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people. (5) Peter therefore was kept in the prison: but prayer was made earnestly of the church unto God for him. (6) And when Herod was about to bring him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and guards before the door kept the prison. (7) And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shined in the cell: and he smote Peter on the side, and awoke him, saying, Rise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. (8) And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And he did so. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. (9) And he went out, and followed; and he knew not that it was true which was done by the angel, but thought he saw a vision. (10) And when they were past the first and the second guard, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth into the city; which opened to them of its own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and straightway the angel departed from him. (11) And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a truth, that the Lord hath sent forth his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
We referred to this passage recently, but I see another message for us today in this story.
The time of this story is the Passover season, which was precisely when Jesus was crucified.
Herod did this with Peter during PASSOVER.
But it was during this time that a miracle occurred. Peter's imprisonment hindered Peter from doing his ministry for the Lord.
And Herod put Peter there so he could later take him and kill him.
We need to realize that when we get locked up like this, it is the first step to seeing a ministry killed altogether. So while we are locked up, still holding a ministry deep inside, let us bust out of this prison house by the power of a revelation from God's Word. The very night Herod chose to take Peter out was already said to be AFTER PASSOVER.
And we can see that as Peter's imprisonment was associated with the TIME Of Christ's imprisonment, your imprisonment is always associated with THE EXPERIENCE OF Jesus' imprisonment.
God wants to set you free from your imprisonment. The key is to connect with God in prayer. (5) Peter therefore was kept in the prison: but prayer was made earnestly of the church unto God for him.
So the very night came when Herod would take Peter and do his business. Act 12:6-7 KJVR And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. (7) And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. A LIGHT SHONE int eh room where Peter was. 2Co 4:6 KJVR For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And this old PRISON HOUSE had THREE COMPARTMENTS. Act 12:7-10 KJVR And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. (8) And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. (9) And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. (10) When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. This is interesting because MAN IS COMPRISED OF THREE PARTS. 1Th 5:23 KJVR And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. SPIRIT, SOUL and BODY. And when you have a GIFT to do a MINISTRY for God, it is contained within YOUR HUMAN SPIRIT.
But when we get locked up, it is because something happened surrounding and around the SPIRIT of your life.
Your soul gets MESSED UP due to such experiences.
If it is not going to get through your SOUL, forget about the IRON GATE of you flesh.
The prison had three sections. Act 12:(10) When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. If you can only get past your thinking that gets messed up and your flesh that is like an iron gate in these times, so far as your ministry is concerned, you will get out into the street where the action is AND DO YOUR MINISTRY.
GO INTO ALL THE WORLD AND TEACH ALL NATIONS! But the devil doesn't want that.
A LIGHT NEEDS TO HIT YOU!
A truth will hit you and come alive and will break open your mind and your flesh, and overcome that barrier in YOUR OWN LIFE! The devil cannot touch us.
Do not be ignorant of the devil's devices. Since this happened at the same time Jesus arose, we need to realize something. Jesus went into the grave in death FOR US.
Jesus not only died and rose again to defeat the power of death, but since death is the greatest power the devil ever had, and the Lord conquered him and took the keys of death from the devil, then ANYTHING ELSE THE DEVIL USES can be overcome BY THE SAME RESURRECTION OF JESUS. Realize that and use the blood of Jesus by saying "Christ died and rose again to conquer every enemy I will ever have."
We need to get out and do the will of God! You need to get out into the street and do your thing! But you need to get used to calling on God to see that happen, rather than moap and moan about it. When Peter came out he thought it was all a vision. Act 12:9-11 KJVR And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. (10) When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. (11) And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. And what you are going to do when you get out is go to where the people of God are. Act 12:12 KJVR And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. You isolate yourself when you get locked up.
Now, this is a lesson for Peter and the prayer meeting people.
But watch: Act 12:13-16 KJVR And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. (14) And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. (15) And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. (16) But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. All of this surprised everyone because they never did this before.
This will mess the devil up. He will get out of there.. Act 12:19 KJVR And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and there abode. Herod was so embarrassed he killed the prisoners to make it look like they were incompetent, when in reality it scared him to death. And instead of Peter getting killed, Herod died. |