From
Acts to Revelation
Part
32 – PETER DELIVERED
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House
of Faith Church | www.PS127.org
| www.TruthDigest.org
INTRODUCTION
We have seen in the Book of Acts, the
persecution that the early church faced at the hands of the religious leaders,
as well as the Roman government.
Today's verses, will show us persecution
for persuasion. King Herod Agrippa, grandson of King Herod the great, in order
to win the love of the Jews, persecutes and murders the Apostle James.
When he sees how his actions please the
Jews, he arrests Peter to have him killed after the Passover.
But God has more planned for Peter, and
sends an Angel of the Lord to rescue him.
Today's scripture, should have us look at
our own lives and ask the questions;
Have I been “saved” from certain death in
my past?
Why has God kept me here?
What is it I am supposed to be doing?
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE
Acts 12:1-19
PETER'S ESCAPE FROM PRISON
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who
belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He
had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When
he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This
happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him
in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each.
Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
6 The night before Herod was to bring him to
trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and
sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the
Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and
woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your
clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow
me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea
that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a
vision. 10 They
passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the
city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they
had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
11 Then Peter came to
himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel
and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people
were anticipating.”
I.
KING HEROD WANTS FAVOR WITH THE JEWS
a. King
James Authorized 1611 Error
i.
Acts 12:4
“Easter”
ii.
The Literal translation for this verse
says, “Passover”, yet, the Authorized King James version 1611 replaced it with
the Pagan holiday Easter.
iii. Easter
comes from the Saxon goddess Eostre, who was known by the Saxons as the great
Mother Goddess. Easter was named somewhere between 672-735 A.D.
iv.
She is the goddess of spring, and
fertility, which is why Easter is littered with eggs and rabbits, which are
both symbolic of fertility.
b. The
Persecution of Believer's Continues
i.
King Herod Agrippa was the grandson of King
Herod the Great, who was responsible for murdering the babies of Bethlehem.
ii.
He was seeking the Jews approval, to win
favor with them, he hunted Christians.
c. James,
the brother of John, was put to death with the sword.
i.
The first Apostle to die (Stephen was one
of the first seven Deacons who became a preacher.)
ii.
No successor was ever chosen to take his
place among the twelve.
iii. With
the exception of Judas, who was replaced by Matthias, no others ever followed
any of the twelve in office.
iv.
In other words, there is no such thing as
Apostolic Procession.
d. After
killing James, Herod sees that it pleased the Jews, so he arrested Peter.
i.
He planned on killing him after the
Passover.
ii.
So he placed Peter in prison.
II.
PETER'S GREAT ESCAPE
a. This is
the third time Peter was put in prison for the Gospel.
i.
Acts 4:3; 5:18-19
b. He was
guarded by 16 soldiers.
i.
vs.4, Easter should have been translated
Passover.
c. Prayer
was made without ceasing by the Church for him.
i.
This represents the greatest weapon at the
Church's disposal.
d. vs. 6
implies that Herod had probably announced to everyone of the great Apostle
Peter's coming death.
i.
But God had other plans for Peter.
III. RETURNING
TO THE BROTHERS
a. An
Angel of the Lord came.
i.
And a light shined from glory
ii.
The angel woke Peter, and the chains fell
from his hands.
iii.
He instructed Peter to dress and put on his
shoes to follow him.
b. Peter
was in a dream-like state, and did as the angel instructed.
i.
He thought it was a vision, and did not
realize it was really happening.
c. After
they left the prison, and traveled about a city block, the angel left Peter
i.
And Peter “snapped” out of his day-dream
state. (vs. 11)
d. Pater
states, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and
rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people
were anticipating.”
CONCLUSION
Today's scripture, should have us look at
our own lives and ask the questions;
Have I been “saved” from certain death in
my past?
Peter was saved by an Angel of the Lord
from certain death, because God's will was for him to continue building the
church.
Has there been times in your past where you
feel you may have been saved by the hand of God from certain death?
Why has God kept me here?
Peter knew that it was God's will for him
to continue building the church, and he returned to doing God's will after his
miraculous escape from prison.
Do you know what God's will id for you in
your life right now?
What is
it I am supposed to be doing?
Peter
knew his calling in life...do you?
Maybe
it's time you start asking the Lord, “What is it I am supposed to be doing for
you and your kingdom?”
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to learn more about Salvation and Getting Saved? CLICK
HERE!
