A MIND BLOWING EXPERIENCE!
Acts 12:5-11
Acts 12
5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
6The 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. 7Suddenly 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.
8Then 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. 9Peter 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. 10They 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.
11Then 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."
As we begin to reflect back on the sermons that has gone on this week, we find that the key hidden word is concerning faith. How God has told us not to give up on him, and how God was telling us to just trust him, even though we may feel like we’re not worthy…to still feast at the table that he has prepared for us. But God wanted me to stop by and tell you on tonight to get ready for a MIND BLOWING EXPERIENCE!
That’s right, something that’s going to impact you like never before, something that’s going to make you really know that God did this thing for me and no one else! God said he’s going to blow your mind, because he realize that he has to blow your mind in order for you to believe it’s him who’s really dealing with you. He said, yes, it’s me who’s been making a way for you, it’s me who’s been opening those closed doors, it’s me who have provided for you but for some reason, because everything happened so naturally, you seem to think that you had something to do with it. So guess what, God said to get ready because he’s about to BLOW YOUR MIND!
In the scripture, Herod had decided to arrest or literally, "lay hands on" some of the church, presumably the apos-tolic leaders. We don’t know why Herod intends to persecute them, however, he may be responding because he sees the movement of the messia-nic claims posing a political threat. All Luke tells us is that the beheading of James pleased the people. And seeing that it pleased the people so much, he decided that he would possibly do the same thing to Peter also. So they arrested him and had him put in prison.
The word tells us that while Peter was in prison that the church was earnestly praying for him, meaning they were continually praying, fervently…and not only that, but they were united in prayer. Prayer was the only weapon that the church used, but guess what, it’s more than enough! Now I want you to put yourself in Peter’s situation here, here he is, locked up in jail, just like so many of us on a natural realm, so many of us are imprisoned. We’re bound by our circumstances, we’re bound by our finances, we’re bound by loneliness, depression, and even sickness. But God said he’s got just the fix for you.
Now, as if to test the church’s faith to the limit and emphasize his complete power over his enemies, the Lord waits to act until the eve of Peter’s trial execution. The fact that the scriptures say that Peter was sleeping shows the deep trust he had in God’s sovereignty. Notice also, here in the scriptures that Peter was bound by two chains should be a reminder to us that sometimes, the situations we get in or the imprisonment or strong holds that comes in our lives, may grip us on both hands, they may try to hold us down. But we need to get the peace that Peter had, we need to put all our trust in the Lord. These are the times when we need to grab hold to our faith!
Then, after you tighten up on the faith cord, look at the scripture, it says Suddenly (which by the way is a phrase constantly used to introduce angelic appearances)—it says an angel of the Lord appeared. Oh my God, do you see what I’m trying to say here saints? We need to grab hold to our faith to have a Suddenly experience! The word says that at the same time a light shone in the cell. We are not told its source or where it came from, but this should let you know on some of the dramas on TV that I’m sure you’ve watched TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL, why whenever the angel reveal themselves, a light suddenly appears. Now the word doesn’t say what happened after the light shone in the cell, but somehow, the guards could not figure out how Peter had disappeared.
However, when God is taking you through a MIND BLOWING EXPERIENCE, things are going to happen and no one is going to be able to explain how it all happened. Even Peter himself thought that he was imagining things…When the angel had aroused Peter, he ordered him to move quickly and prepare to leave. Can you imagine what he must have been thinking, even though he believed that God was going to make a way for him, he could have easily just said well, Lord, I’m going to accept my fate. Not that he was giving up on God, but his thought could have been that it was in God’s will for his journey to be over…But what he didn’t realize is that God was fixing to Blow His Mind!
See this thing with me if you will…he’s fast asleep, and bound, all of a sudden, an angel appears and the chains fell from his hands, and you’re being ordered to put your clothes on and to tie his sandal. The way that Peter is told lets you know how groggy he was when he was awakened, notice how the Angel literally told him what to do step by step, as you would tell a child when they have been awakened from a deep sleep. This by all means lets me know that Peter was definitely going through a MIND BLOWING EXPERIENCE.
Just like some of us today, you know how it is when we’ve labored and prayed for so long over a situation, then when God moves, and things starts all of a sudden happening, it makes you wonder if you’re dreaming or is it real! God says Get Ready, get ready, get ready!!!!
Whew, notice how God is moving all through this story now, as they are leaving, remember that there are guards all around, King Herod had made sure Peter had heavy security, because the plan was to execute him the next day. They pass by two guards –I wish I could show it to ya, possibly each one is standing at an entryway, or maybe the two are patrolling one corridor –you know how they do, they still do it today…then they came to the final barrier, an iron gate leading to the city.
Then look out! Here comes yet another MIND BLOWING EXPERIENCE!!!!
Whew, let me show you this thing, because this is something that you have probably never imagined before or even thought to notice from the word! The Bible says here in verse 10 that the iron gate opened up by itself!!!!
Do you hear me tonight! And you thought automatic doors just happened in the 20th century! This wheel had been invented a long, long time ago! This is how God Blows Your Mind!!
Then, verse 11 says that after the angel had left, Peter came to himself, in other words, he came to a realization of what just went on for him! He starts to retrace all of the events that had just happened. He began to say, wait a minute here, I’m remembering this thing now, it’s all coming back to me….let’s see…I remember falling asleep in the Jail.
I remember seeing a bright light, and someone---no, an angel told me to get dressed! I remember the chains being loosed from my hands…and we were walking out of the Jail…we passed by several guards…and we walked right out of the jail….let’s see, the gate, oh yes, the gate opened, we didn’t touch it, we didn’t say open sesame, it just opened…AND NOW HERE AM I!!!
Oh come on somebody, can’t you see how this thing had to have blown Peter’s mind!!!
If I could call up a few witnesses who received a MIND BLOWING EXPERIENCE, I would call on Job, he lost everything he had, to where the flesh fell from his bones…and right before he was at the end, he received a MIND BLOWING EXPERIENCE!!! God restored his health, all his family, and gave him double what he had and had ever imagined he would.
I would call on the Lady with the issue of blood, because when she had spent all she had on doctors, and specialists, just when she was about to give up hope she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and received a mind blowing experience!
I would call on Moses, when God spoke to him through a burning bush, I’m sure that was a MIND BLOWING EXPERIENCE!!!
But I can bring it down on a personal level for you…I can call on myself, how God is continually giving me Mind blowing experiences. How he covered me with his arms of protection, keeping me out of harms way. How he just has the doors open already for me, when I know or at least I thought I knew that there was no way out.
Remember this one thing on this evening…the word says in 1 Cor. 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Listen, there are blessings in store for you, but you have to get in the mind frame to receive them. Follow Peter’s example…he got in a situation that he felt like there was no way out, there was no way to escape, he was bound, and had guards all around him…who would have thought that God would have delivered him the way that he did. We have to stop selling ourselves short, some of you don’t realize how close you really are to God until you get in a bind, and you begin to see how God is opening the doors for you and how he’s making a way. We need to trust him more, and he’s saying just believe in me and stand on my word. It’s up to you this evening. Do you want a mind blowing experience from the Lord?
