The Great Escape – 1
Text: Acts 12:6-11
Introduction
1. When all I see is the battle, you see my victory
When all I see is the mountain, You see a mountain moved
And as I walk through the shadow, Your love surrounds me
There's nothing to fear now for I am safe with You. So, when I fight, I'll fight on my knees
With my hands lifted high
Oh God, the battle belongs to You
And every fear I lay at Your feet
I'll sing through the night
Oh God, the battle belongs to You (Battle Belongs by Phil Wickham).
2. “He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (2 Chron. 20:15).
3. When you find yourself in battle, and you are surrounded with your back against the wall, remember, the battle belongs to the Lord!
4. Read Acts 12:6-11
Transition: When we find ourselves amid the battle it’s imperative that we…
I. Rest In Peace (6-8).
A. He Was Asleep
1. As we recall from last week, James had been murdered with the sword, and Peter had been imprisoned by Herod Antipas I. But...”But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.”
2. Now we are about to see what happens when the church prays! In v. 6 it says, “The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate.”
a. The first thing we notice in this verse is that Peter was going on trial the next morning...and he was sleeping!
b. Now, I don’t know about you, but if I was going on trial the next morning and one of my fellow apostles had just been murdered, I don’t think I’d be getting much sleep.
c. In addition to the mental anguish, he should have been feeling, he was also chained to two guards while the others stood guard over him.
d. How in the world could Peter be sleeping? Well, he was sleeping because he knew who was in control, and it wasn’t an earthly king, no, it was the King of Kings!
e. He knew his life was in God’s hands, and if God could get him out of jail before, he could do it again. And if he didn’t, Peter knew he would be with Jesus in heaven.
f. That is why he could sleep like a baby with all the turmoil going on, because he knew the power of God.
g. This is the kind of peace that God gives us. Peace not like the world gives us, but the peace that only God can give.
h. Church, we don’t know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future!
3. Next, Luke tells us in v. 7, “Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists.”
a. While Peter slept soundly, suddenly the cell was filled with a bright light. Except for possibly a few torches, the cell Peter was in was probably pitch black.
b. So, a bright light would probably gain some attention.
c. Then Luke tells us that an angel of the Lord stood before Peter.
d. But guess what, Peter was still sound asleep. He didn’t just have his eyes shut, but rather he was sawing logs.
e. So much so, Luke tells us that the angel had to strike Peter in the side to wake him up! And this was no mere nudge or poke because the word in Greek usually meant a fatal blow. He literally beat Peter in the side to wake him up.
f. Then the angel tells Peter to get up, and when he does the chains fall off his wrists. This shows us that God sometimes requires that we do something to receive the miracle we need.
g. God asks us to step out in faith and show we believe by our actions.
h. We should also notice that neither the angel nor Peter touch the chains. They just miraculously fall off.
i. Not only was it a miracle that his chains fell off, but it’s an even bigger miracle that none of the guards noticed.
j. Keep in mind that Peter was chained to two guards and fourteen other guards were keeping watch.
k. There was probably a guard at every door, every gate, and every possible passage leading out of the jail.
l. None of these guards even noticed.
4. Luke continues the story in v. 8 saying, “Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.”
a. The angel instructs Peter to put on his sandals and his coat.
b. Now most fugitives escaping from prison don’t take the time to put their shoes on and grab a coat.
c. But this is no ordinary escape; it’s a deliverance by the hand of God.
d. Peter was totally passive though the entire episode.
e. This was a divine intervention, and it was in answer to the prayers of the church.
B. I Will Give You Rest
1. Almighty fortress, you go before us
Nothing can stand against the power of our God
You shine in the shadow, you win every battle
Nothing can stand against the power of our God (Battle Belongs, Phil Wickham).
2. Even in the heat of the battle, Jesus will give us rest.
a. “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30).
b. One of the great truths of the Christian life is that there will be hardships.
c. Jesus didn’t say there wouldn’t be heavy burdens, but rather when we have them, he will give us rest.
d. If you look at how the apostles of Jesus died, none of them died of natural causes except John, and that was only after he was boiled in oil. When they couldn’t kill him, they exiled him to the Island of Patmos, where he received the Revelation.
e. Nowhere in Scripture does Jesus say we won’t have difficulties, but rather he says he will be there with us in the middle of our trials.
f. In the Book of Daniel, the three Hebrew men are thrown into the fiery furnace. Jesus didn’t stop them from being thrown into the furnace, but the guards saw a fourth man in the fire because Jesus was in there with them.
g. Now, I may not know what furnace you are in at this moment, but Jesus does, and he is there in the furnace with you.
h. He knew Peter needed to be delivered from prison, so, he sent his angel to set him free.
i. No matter what prison you find yourself in, Jesus is there to set you free!
Transition: When we find ourselves in the middle of the battle, we need to…
II. Receive Our Deliverance (9-11).
A. It’s Really True
1. One of the truths about miracles from answered prayer is that often we are clueless. We don’t believe it’s going to happen, and when it does, we’re surprised. Peter is a classic example of this fact.
2. If anyone should have believed in a miracle it was Peter. He had seen Jesus perform numerous miracles in the three plus years he spent with him. Not to mention, he was an eyewitness of the resurrection.
3. But look what Luke tells us in v. 9, “So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening.”
a. So, here is Peter, after seeing all that he has seen and experienced, being led out of the cell by the angel and he doesn’t believe it is happening!
b. In fact, Luke tells us that he thought he was experiencing a vision, just like the one he had at Simon the Tanner’s house.
c. Luke goes so far as to say that Peter didn’t realize it was really happening!
4. Luke seems to take us step by step on their way out of the jail. In v. 10 he tells us, “They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.”
a. They pass the first and second guard posts, and again nobody noticed!
b. Then they reach the iron gate that led to the city, and it opened all by itself!
c. In fact, the word in Greek is automate which is where we get our English word “automatic.”
d. They came to the gate, and again, no one touched the gate, it just opens.
e. The angel starts walking down the street with Peter, and then suddenly he leaves Peter, and Peter is all alone.
5. Now, if you think there is no humor in the Bible, you haven’t read it closely enough. Look what Luke says it v. 11, “Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!”
a. You have to love the phrase, “Peter finally came to his senses!”
b. Peter finally wakes up and realizes that this is really happening, and it wasn’t a dream.
c. He finally realizes that God had sent an angel to save him and set him free from the prison cell.
d. He says the angel saved him from what Herod and the Jewish leaders wanted to do to him.
e. God intervened because God’s people prayed!
B. Christ Has Truly Set Us Free
1. So, when I fight, I'll fight on my knees
With my hands lifted high
Oh God, the battle belongs to You
And every fear I lay at Your feet
I'll sing through the night
Oh God, the battle belongs to You.
2. It’s time we come to our senses and realize God has truly set us free!
a. “IT was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” (Gal. 5:1, NASB).
b. The truth is Jesus has already set us free!
c. The unfortunate reality is that too many of us don’t realize it yet!
d. We are like Peter, we wish we were free, but we think it’s all a dream.
e. It’s like it’s January 1, 1863, they’ve read the Emancipation Proclamation to us, but we think it’s too good to be true.
f. We need to come to our senses and stand firm on the fact that Jesus has ALREADY set us free!
g. It’s time we say, “Not today, devil, I am set free by the blood of Jesus!”
Transition: Do you realize it’s true?
Conclusion
1. In the middle of the battle, we need to…
a. Rest in Peace
b. Receive Our Deliverance
2. What’s the point preacher? The point is Jesus has broken our chains, and all we have to do is get up and walk out of our cell.
