I'm turning now in the word of God to the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 12, and reading the first two verses. The Acts of the Apostles, chapter 12, and reading the first two verses. Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church, and he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. And my title for this evening's message is The Miraculous Escape. Of course, we're thinking of the Apostle Peter and how the Lord rescued him in such a spectacular way in that prison, secure prison. We'll be thinking about these things, and we see how God confounds the plans of the mighty and the wise of this world and brings them to naught. It seems as though Peter's fate was sealed and he was to be executed most likely the next day before the public, but God intervened in a wonderful way. And God heard the prayers of his people, his praying people, and rescued his servant. So for the mighty encouragement of his people to continue to pray. But I don't know whether you've noticed, but I've skipped a chapter in our series in the book of Acts. We were last in Acts chapter 10, and I'm now in Acts chapter 12. But I'll just give you a very, very brief summary of Acts chapter 11. I'm sure sure you remember last week. We were considering the Apostle Peter and how he visited Cornelius Cornelius received the Roman centurion. He received a vision from God And then vision the Apostle Peter also received a vision and they were brought together By God's providence and by him by these miraculous visions Peter traveled with the men down to Caesarea, and there Peter preached the gospel to Cornelius and the other Gentiles. And after this, Peter returned to Jerusalem, and we're now going into chapter 11, but there were some Jews in the church at Jerusalem who had contention with Peter. And they said to him, Peter, why did you go into this house where this Gentile was? Why did you eat with Gentiles, Peter? And they did not understand. Some of these Jewish believers, and we assume they were believers because we're told they were in the narrative. Why did you eat with the Gentiles? Why did you go into the into the Gentile house and mingle among them. And Peter rehearsed to them what he had experienced. He had a vision from God, and so did Cornelius. And God brought them together, and he shared the gospel with them. And while he was doing so, the Spirit of God came down upon the Gentiles, and they also spoke with other tongues, different languages. And so God authenticated this. And it was clear that salvation was to be issued to the Gentiles also. And Peter was explaining these things to those Jews among them in the Church of Jerusalem. No doubt some, not all of them, had these contingents, but some of them did. And Peter was explaining these things to them. The response was encouraging because we read in Acts chapter 11 verse 18 when they hear these things they held their peace and Glorified God saying then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life Well in our previous study We remember that they should have understood this, because everywhere in the Old Testament, it prophesies about the gathering of the Gentiles. Over and over again, everywhere, you're stumbling over it. It's everywhere in the Old Testament. So they should have realized these things, but I'm assuming we would have been the same. It would have not dawned on us as well. but God made it plain to them, the Jerusalem church, that salvation would usher forth to the Gentiles. This was God's plan all along. But there would arise from the church in Jerusalem those Jews who professed to know Christ. I don't think that was the case here in Acts chapter 11, but there would arise Jews who professed to believe Christ, but they were not true believers. They were what we would call Judaizers. They were believed that, yes, Christ is your savior and you can trust in him for salvation, but you must also place your trust and you must also meticulously follow the ceremonial law to be saved. This is what they were teaching. And they caused the Apostle Paul so much anxiety, so much pain, because they would interrupt his work among the Gentiles. And they would come in among the Gentile churches and cause the Apostle Paul so much contention. And he had to return back to Jerusalem and say to them, what are you doing? But we will learn about this in a further chapter. But we see this, for example, in the letter to the Galatians, how these Jews were coming in among the Gentile church and telling them that, no, you have to believe in works as well to be saved. And the Apostle Paul was saying, oh, foolish Galatians. So, well, that's not our topic this evening, but just to give you a recap of the previous chapter of Acts chapter 11. Not that this took place then, but there would be trouble later on, but the Lord would overrule for the blessing and the extension of the gospel to the Gentile world. But now we want to return our attention to this chapter, but before we do so, after that incident in Acts chapter 12, Paul and and other believers. They were preaching the gospel in Samaria. You remember what happened to the believers who were persecuted in Jerusalem as a result of the martyrdom of Stephen? This sparked a great persecution against the church and they had to flee Jerusalem. And they went into Samaria and They went beyond Samaria, and this is what we learn in Acts chapter 11, they went even further on to some regions in Syria and Cyprus and Antioch, and there they preached the gospel, and the church saw that the Lord was blessing the works, so they sent Barnabas to that place as well, that region in Syria. And he also had his base in Antioch, and he was establishing believers there with the church there, and then He saw the need for assistance, so he went to Tarsus and called for Saul. And Saul was with Barnabas there for about a year, establishing believers there and preaching the gospel. So that's Acts chapter 11. But we focus our attention now on this chapter and the miraculous escape of the apostle Peter. But we begin in verse one. Now at that time, Herod the king stretched forth his hand to vex certain of the church, and he killed James. the brother of John, John the Apostle, their father Zebedee, the two brothers. Well, James was killed. And the people, the Jews, those who were against the church, they were so appreciative of this. They were so glad. And so this encouraged Herod Agrippa. This is Herod Agrippa, the grandson of Herod the Great. And he followed in the tradition of his grandfather and was attacking the truth as well. And he was persuaded to go further and to arrest Peter. And he was imprisoned and he was under heavy guard. And the plan was to execute him the following day, bring him out before the public, just like he did with John. And I mean, Peter, James, I beg your pardon, and execute him. But you see, without the grace of God, what human nature is like. Why did Herod arrest Peter? Was it done for any evil he did? Was there any justice involved? No, he did it because of popular opinion, because of the demand of the people. And you see what happens with human nature and how power corrupts us so easily. It had nothing to do with any justice. He just was swayed. by the demand of the people and popular opinion. And sadly, this can even come into churches where this carnal mindset, where the demand of the people will shape what I do in my service. Whatever's popular in culture, whatever's popular in society, well, there's pressure from the people. There's pressure from what people want. And so I will conform and change my message to please people. So this kind of mindset can even enter the church. So we must be so careful. But now Peter is in real trouble and the church immediately calls upon the Lord. They organize a prayer meeting and plead with the Lord. Verse 5, Peter therefore was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. And so Friends, here we see the necessity and the power of prayer meetings. Prayer meetings are so vital for the churches. We have more than one instance here in the book of Acts. We have at least three proof texts where we can show you how important it is for the people of God to have prayer meetings, regular prayer meetings for the work of the gospel. It's the engine room of the church. It's so vital. that God's people to gather together at least once a week for prayer. If we don't do this, we can't expect blessing. And so these things are important. And we see this again, we see it in Acts chapter four as well, a prayer meeting gathered. But Peter's predicament is so serious, he's practically on death row. He will be executed the next day. And It seems as though his fate is sealed. He will have the same fate as James. He will be put to death. But we read in this verse, and it's structured so perfectly. Look at this verse, verse five again. Peter, therefore, was kept in prison. That's the gloomy reality. He's as good as dead, but But is very significant here, but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God. So on the one hand, you have this terrible predicament, but on the other hand, and but is significant in this verse, but God's people were praying. So God was gonna do something because God's people were pleading with the Lord. The plans of the wicked would be interrupted. God is sovereign, he was going to do something. What an encouragement to pray God was into into God was going to intervene and so when Satan? Whispers in our ears like he he will do from time to time He will try to persuade us well this city that you're in or doesn't matter where people's where God has placed his people the the city that you're in people people are so callous and hardened towards the gospel look you gave a track to that person the other day he tore it up in front of you and it's so hard the You're not going to penetrate. You're not going to make any penetration with the gospel. And people are hostile and indifferent to this message. Yes, that all may be true. That all may be the case. But... But we can pray to the sovereign god who can melt hearts. So although the reality is people's minds are Spellbound by satan and his wiles that is the sad reality. They're imprisoned But god's people are praying as long as there is intercession for the city. There is hope for souls in the city And God has His elect, and we must continue to pray and make intercession. It doesn't matter how strong the satanic stronghold is, because we can appear to the stronger man. And he can spoil the principalities in darkness. He can set the captives free. So what an incentive this passage is for prayer, for God's people, and the necessity of prayer meetings. But we continue in verse six. When Herod would have brought him forth, that is the next day, the next day it was planned to bring him forth before the public. The same night Peter was sleeping between the two soldiers, bound with two chains. And the keepers before the door kept the prison There's such a comforting, this is such a comforting verse. Do you see it? Do you see it in this verse? There's something so precious here in verse six. I wonder whether you've seen it. When Herod would have brought him forth the same night Peter was sleeping. Peter, you're gonna die the next day. You should be wide awake, petrified, fearing, oh, I don't wanna die. Oh no, I'm gonna, no, he's sound asleep. He's sleeping like a little child. Peter, where is this comfort? What's this fortitude and this composure you have that you're facing death and you're having a sound sleep? There you are, chained in the prison and you're gonna be executed the next day. Well, this great hope that Christians have is meant to give us this kind of composure and comfort. Peter knew Well, he thought that he was gonna die, and yet he had total peace about it. He knew he would be with the Savior instantly. And so this should be such a help for us. It doesn't matter, and what we learn in this passage is this, it doesn't matter what happens in this life, and we can go through difficult, and maybe the Lord has very difficult trials for you in the future, dear brother or sister, you don't know. There may be a very deep valley yet you may go through, but whatever happens in this life, It doesn't matter if you're marginalized or persecuted for the faith. It doesn't matter. Nothing can separate you from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. And there's that day coming when you will enter into that eternal realm and there will be no more sin to harass you. and the persecution and all the hostility against the truth will no longer exist. And you will be reunited with loved ones. You will be amongst that great cloud of witnesses. You will mingle freely among the great saints of the past and have sweet fellowship. And best of all, you will see your beloved Savior. You will see those wounds, those glorious scars, and you will worship Him and adore Him as never before. And you will feel as embracing Loving embrace forever. So the more you look forward to heaven the more you'll be helped in times of distress The more you reflect about heaven and being in glory with your Savior the more mindful you are The more help you'll receive the more composed you'll you'll be you'll be in difficulty and trial So the hope of heaven is vital. It's so important and I have no doubt. This is why the Apostle Peter was sound asleep and knowing that he would be with the Savior, if that's what the Lord was calling him to at that present hour. But we continue to read further. And behold, the angel of the Lord God intervenes. 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, rise up quickly. And his chain fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, gird thyself and bind on my sandals. And so he did. And he said unto him, cast thy garment about thee. and follow me. So the Apostle Peter, from a human point of view, was in impossible circumstance, heavily guarded and under lock and key. And yet this angel appears out of nowhere and the celestial light fills the whole room. And the angel wakens Peter and assists him up and says to Peter, put on your coat, Peter, put on your sandals, get ready. And miraculously, his chains, the chains around his wrists just slide off. Did you read that? They just slide off. You see this miraculous deliverance. But you see miraculous deliverances in so many places in the Bible. There's so many instances when at the last minute, God intervenes. Remember the Israelites trapped at the Red Sea? There's the sea, impassable sea in front of them, and Pharaoh and his army. Behind them they're trapped but God intervenes at the last minute Remember Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem hemmed in by the Assyrian army without hope but they pray to the Lord and at the last minute God comes through and then Elisha and his servant trapped in the city of Dothan and the Syrian army surrounding them and again God comes in and At the last minute, when it seems as though the enemy is on the verge of victory, God comes in. God intervenes. Does God do this in our times? Does he come in for us in miraculous ways? Well, We we hear of these things we hear of what god has done in recent times or in past times in a recent past how he's done miraculous things for his people you think for example of george muller and when he was uh pioneering this work with orphans and there were times and you you only you can you can purchase his diary and you can read how god answered his prayers miraculous ways there's been times when There was nothing in the larder, nothing in the kitchen to feed the children. They had literally nothing. And they asked the children to sit down, and they were praying, and they were believing as they were giving thanks for the food. And there was no food there, but they were praying to the Lord that the Lord would provide. And He did, miraculously. There was bread delivered at the last minute, or the milk truck broke down right outside the orphanage. And God answered their prayers in a miraculous way. So God can do the same for us today as well. And we have a history of answered prayer as well. comes through for his people, or he either delivers us from the trial or he gives us grace to be sustained and upheld in the trial. So God in his wisdom knows best, but he is always with his people. And this is one of the primary lessons we learn from this imprisonment. It doesn't matter how extreme the difficulty or the trial is. God is always a very present help for his people. Remember the psalm? I'm sure you know what psalm I'm talking about. Psalm 46, I read these verses. Psalms, the first two verses of Psalm 46, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear. And look at the extreme language. You couldn't get more extreme than this though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea It doesn't matter how extreme your difficulty is. God is a very present aid and help in every difficulty and trouble you go through But did the angel when the angel appeared in the cell to rescue? Peter did the angel do everything did the angel break the chains off? Did the angel pick up peter and carry him through? uh Out of the prison? No, of course not. The angel gave him instructions. Peter, get up. Peter, put on your coat. Peter, put on your sandals. Peter, follow me. And they went past the first watch, and then the second watch, and then the iron gate, the prison iron gate. It opened by itself. Of course, it was God's divine power. And then they were led out into the city, and As they went down one street, the angel disappears entirely because he was now safe. But we're also given instructions in our trials and difficulties. When we're in trial and difficulty, when we feel hemmed in as God's people, whether as a church or individually, it's not the norm for God to help us and deliver us while we're completely passive. If we were to be given help in every difficulty and trouble in our lives, when we didn't make any effort, then that actually wouldn't be very beneficial to our sanctification. For example, if I suffer great disappointment, suddenly something very dramatic happens in my life, which causes me great disappointment, and the Spirit of God prompts me, inclines me to prayer, or inclines me to read certain passages which ought to give me great comfort. And I don't do it. I don't do this. If I don't follow instructions, if I don't heed to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, I can't expect to be encouraged, to be uplifted in trial and difficulty. And this is what the scriptures teach. Yes, God will help us in our trials, but we have something to do. There's instructions in the trial. This is important to bear in mind just as Peter wasn't passive and the angel did everything. No, he had instructions It's the same with us in the letter of James chapter 5 verse 13 We read the following is any among you afflicted. Let him pray is Any Mary letting some sing psalms and on it goes? Are you afflicted? There's something you must do their spiritual advice do it and God will bless you do it by faith and you will receive help and So these are important things to bear in mind. When we are in difficulty in trial, God, there's always instructions for help and for blessing and encouragement, and if needs be, deliverance. And even if we're lacking assurance, sometimes Christians can go through times when they lack assurance. It could be because of some sin that we haven't repented of or other reasons, but there's instructions there as well. I don't have time to go into these things, There's always instructions for God to help us, but it's not passive. We must give heed to the instructions and the Lord will bless. But we continue to read from verse 12. Peter is now outside of the prison and he is safe. And when he had considered the thing, what had happened? He came to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. 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." And it continues, Realizes what's happened. He thought at first it was a vision, but it wasn't a vision God actually led him out of the prison with this angel and miracle after miracle opening of the prison doors that and The God of must have caught a deep sleep upon all the soldiers because they didn't wake up with any of these things a deep sleep we that was probably the case and how the change just slid off Peter and And now he's out of the prison and he goes to this lady's house called Mary. It's not, I don't think it's any of the Marys in the gospels. That's what the commentators think. We don't know who it's, but it's her son is John Mark, who was with Barnabas and Paul in their first endeavors in the gospel. But he goes to this house. She has a prayer meeting at this house. That's where they're praying. And this young lady comes out and sees Peter at the gate. And she's so ecstatic with joy that she goes back in, not even opening the gate for Peter, and tells everyone that Peter's there. They don't believe her. And eventually Peter comes in, and he explains to them what happened. And then he leaves. But next morning, there's absolute mayhem in the prison. Because the soldiers are frantically searching for Peter, and you can't blame them. Because if they don't find Peter, they're in serious trouble. And that's what happens. They don't find Peter. And when Herod finds out, he orders for their execution. They're immediately executed. But I want to come to the last portion of the chapter, because there's some important lessons there also. And I read from verse 20. When Herod was, Herod now, after this, he went down, verse 19, the latter half of verse 19, he went down from Judea to Caesarea. He goes to Caesarea on the coast and their abode. And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Zion. But they came with one accord to him. And having made Blastus the king's chamberlain, their friend, desired peace because their country was nourished by the king's country. And upon a set day, Herod arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne and made an oration unto them, a speech. And the people gave a shout saying, it is the voice of a God and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him because he gave not God the glory and he was eaten of worms and gave up the ghost. Well, Actually, Josephus, the Jewish historian, has a lot to say about this incident, this event. He documents this event, what happened with Herod Agrippa at length. And he tells us that he gave the speech in this huge theater, a sports theater, according to Josephus, probably where they held Olympics and things of this kind. But he enters into this theater in Caesarea, gives the speech to the people there, Well, he visits this land, and he's infuriated with the people in this region, in the land of Phoenicia, and these two cities particularly. We're not given the reason why he's so angry with them, but they realize, the people in these cities, they realize that they're in trouble with Herod, and they do everything they can to ingratiate him, to appease his anger. And after the speech, Everyone applauds him and and treats him as a god and they say it's not a voice of a man. It's a voice. It's a voice of a god and Herod and his pride he receives all the praise but god strikes him down because of his pride and An angel angel strikes him down. It's interesting what josephus says josephus says that after the speech herod looks up and he sees this owl flying overhead and He sees it as a bad omen and all of a sudden he receives these excruciating stomach pain and he dies Very soon after but of course the scripture teaches us that an angel of the Lord struck struck him whether it was visible or not We don't know where the Herod saw the angel visibly and the people saw the eight We don't do not know we're not given that information, but that information is not important, but he dies very quickly well, we see here in this passage that A contrast. I wonder if you notice the contrast here in this chapter, not just in this passage, it's in this chapter, and it's beautiful. The contrast between the portion of the sinner and the portion of a saint. You see this contrast. Here you see Herod at the beginning of the chapter, he has everything that you could possibly want from a worldling's point of view. He had power, he had money, he had fame, he had it all. But yet in the greatest trial of life, none of these things could help him. As he reached the river of death, where are these things to help you, Herod? Where is your fame? Where is the applause? Where is your money? None of these things can help you, Herod, as you face death. As you're seethed with terror, lifelong you've lived for these things. Lifelong you pursued these things. And now that you're facing death and your soul is filled with uncontrollable terror, where are these things to help you, Herod? They're all gone. They're like the Highlings in John chapter 10. If I'm speaking hypothetically, they run off. They run off. You don't have the true shepherd. These things which you trust, they're gone. When you need them most, in Proverbs chapter 11, verse four, riches profit not in the day of wrath, but righteousness, not our own righteousness, righteousness delivereth from death. So there's one contrast the life of the sinner But in the other contrast you have the life of the saint in the same chapter the apostle peter and the other apostles Remember what the apostle peter said to that beggar in acts chapter 3 silver and gold. I have none. I'm poor We are poor. We don't have much money to we don't have enough money. We don't have any money to give you and uh The apostles were persecuted for the faith. They were imprisoned for the faith. And in the words of Paul, 1 Corinthians chapter four, verse nine, for I think that God has set us forth, has set us as the apostles lost, as it were, appointed unto death. We are made as the filth of the world and are the offscouring of all things unto this day. So the apostles suffered greatly for their savior, but in the midst of all the troubles that they faced, they knew Christ's nearness. They knew the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. They knew his help. They knew his joy. They knew his peace. They knew his love. They knew his care. They knew increasing strength in times of difficulty. They knew such grace. They were more than conquerors through him that loved them. And it's the same with us, dear brother and sister. Look at this chapter and see the contrast between the sinner and the saint. Despite the difficulties and troubles you go through, God is very much near you and he is your savior. So shake off those chains of despair. And don't forget that if you have Christ, you have everything. The meek shall inherit the earth, the new heavens and the new earth. Have you forgotten that your savior has a constant Loving watchful eye upon every step you take in life. Have you forgotten this? Have you forgotten that he doesn't he doesn't Afflict you willingly, but everything is done for your good and your eternal blessing. Have you forgot these things? Don't you realize that through difficulties and trials we go through heaven becomes all the more sweeter And this is one of the reasons for our sanctification the reason why we suffer in this life Not all the time, but at some sometimes in our Christian experience one of the reasons for this One of the sanctifying reasons is that we long for heaven more and that is so important the Christians thirsting and longing to be with the Savior in glory and Even so, come Lord Jesus, that's one of the purposes, not the only, but that's one of the vital reasons of God's sanctifying reasons, why he takes us through dark valleys in this life. And soon I will be there. And I just quote Charles Wesley in closing, one of the hymn we sang this morning, long mine prison spirit lay fast bound in sin and nature's night. Thine eye diffused a quickening ray. I woke, the dungeon filled with light. My chains fell off, my heart was free. I rose, went forth, and followed Thee. And this is the testimony of all those who are in Christ, and it will end in that place of wonder and love and everlasting glory. And so may we be encouraged with this wonderful passage in Acts chapter 12. Amen.