The Great Escape 1 Series

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.