Okay, now turn back with me if
you would to Acts chapter 12. Actually, before we get into
this, I opened my notes but I didn't read them. Before we get into
this, I want to show you something that's over in Matthew 13. So
turn with me to Matthew 13. Matthew 13, look at verse 3. And our Lord spake many things
unto them in parables. Parables. A parable is an earthly
story with a heavenly meaning. That's what a parable is. And
then right here, our Lord told them a parable. And after he
was finished, he said in verse nine, who hath ears to hear,
let him hear. Who hath ears to hear, let him
hear. Verse 10, and the disciples came
and said unto him, why speakest thou unto them in parables? We
hear what you're telling them. We understand what you're saying.
Why are you saying it in the form of a parable? He answered and said unto them,
because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven. But to them, it is not given.
For whosoever hath, these ears, these given ears, whosoever hath,
to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance. But
whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away, even that
he hath. Therefore speak I to them in
parables, because they seeing, see not. And hearing, they hear
not, neither do they understand. Now a parable is an earthly story,
and it makes sense. It's an earthly story. Brother
Bob just read for us an actual earthly story, and it made sense.
We know what happened in Acts 12, don't we? And it made sense. And people can hear the components
of a story, the components of a parable, and think, hmm, yeah,
I got it. I understand. And they might
even learn a physical lesson from it. There might be a lesson
taken from it. But inside that parable, Inside
one of God's parables is the mystery of the kingdom of heaven.
That's what's inside that parable. And even though that mystery
might be explained by God's grace, I'm about to explain the mystery
of the kingdom of heaven by God's grace. But even if it's explained,
unless God gives ears to hear it, and eyes to see it, and a
heart to believe it, All it will be is an earthly story. That's all it'll be. Now look
right here in Matthew 13 at verse 34. All these things spake Jesus
unto the multitude in parables. And without a parable spake he
not unto them. This entire book is a parable. That's what the whole book is.
It's a parable. Every earthly story, every single
earthly story in this book holds the mysteries of the kingdom
of heaven. Every single one of them. Acts chapter 12 is a story
about the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Now I was just sitting
there a minute ago listening to brother Bob read this thinking
I don't need to explain the physical story. And I'm glad I thought that because
they're not in my notes. I'm going to give us the spiritual
story. As we read through Acts chapter
12, we are going to, by God's grace, see the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven in it. Now let's see if the Lord will
open it up to us. Go with me back to Acts chapter
12. Verse 1 says, 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. We have an adversary. We have an adversary. Our Lord
said in John 8 verse 44 that he was a murderer from the beginning. And he said that he was a liar,
the father of lies. He has been called the little
G, God of this world, hasn't he? Our Lord said through Peter that
he is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. We are no match for him. We don't want to have anything
to do with him. Nothing. I don't want to think about him.
I don't want to say his name. I don't want to have anything
to do with him. Lord, I was writing all that right here on this paper
the other day thinking, oh dear God keep me from the evil one. God be merciful to me sinner. When I was a child, I was at
a friend's house, and even as a child, I thought, get me out
of this place. His grandmother was so religious,
and somebody said something, and she was sitting there in
his living room, and she said, it's the devil. And she said,
I got news for him. He ain't got nothing on me. If
he thinks he can't, and I started thinking even as a child and
I think it now, oh God be merciful to me sinner. God be merciful
to me sinner. Hide me safe in the rock. Protect
me, help me, keep me, save me. Little did she know right then
and there at that moment she was his puppet. Even Michael the Archangel would
not contend with him. The only reason I even bring
any of that stuff up is because that's where our parable starts.
An awful condition. I mean an awful, awful condition
of vexation and slaughter and captivity. That's what it is,
captivity. This is where you and I started,
and this is where every single sinner on this earth starts.
We come forth from our mother's womb speaking lies, just like
the father of lies. So verse 1 says, 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 because he saw it pleased
the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. Then were
the days of unleavened bread. And when he had apprehended him,
he put him in prison and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers
to keep him, intending after Easter to bring him forth to
the people." Now, a quaternion was four soldiers. Four quaternions
is 16 soldiers. And either they were on a shift
rotation or he stationed a lot more soldiers because Peter was
delivered from prison before and he knew this. But what they
would do is a quaternion, four soldiers, would keep a prisoner. Two of them were outside of the
cell guarding the door, standing by that door. Two of them were
inside the cell, chained to the prisoner. Now this was captivity. Outside the cell, inside the
cell. Is that not you and me? I have
a problem outside this cell. I have a problem inside this
cell. Sin is not just what we do. Sin is what we are. You know why we sin? Well, I sinned so that makes
me a sinner. No. You are a sinner. That's why you sinned. So these two soldiers outside
the door, two soldiers inside the door, They have Peter in
captivity. Verse 5 says, Peter, therefore,
was kept in prison. And that is the sad state of
the human race. What an awful place this story
starts. I was in a place a few years
ago, and it was painted very vibrantly, very happy. A lot of windows, a lot of light.
It was a nice place. A lot of people were there. They
were happy to be there. Everybody was smiling. They were
walking and having these little conversations with each other.
I was happy to be there. But all of a sudden, it just
hit me for one second. I just looked around and I thought,
I wonder how many of these people know the true and living God. And then I thought, I wonder
if any of them know the true and living God as He portrays
Himself, as He has set Himself forth in this Word of God. And that broke my heart. It broke
my heart. I believe that the Lord has given
me a heart for humanity. I believe the Lord has given
us a heart for humanity. Do you know that's the only reason
why I'm standing behind this white pulpit? It's because I
believe that God has put something in me for sinners against God, to tell
them the truth. By God's grace, I want to tell
them the truth. And it breaks my heart to see the
spiritual captivity that this world is in, but that's where
they are. That's where we all are in this flesh, spiritual
captivity. Verse five says, Peter therefore
was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the
church unto God for him. And that's the heart that God
gives to his church for those who are in captivity. Almost every single time that
we pray together. We say, Lord, deliver our children,
don't we? Lord, deliver our families. Lord, deliver this community.
Lord, deliver us. There's nothing special in this
body of flesh right here. There's nothing worthy of the
love of God outside of Jesus Christ. Deliver me and deliver
us and deliver us and deliver us. Deliver us. Why do we do that? Don't we believe in election? Don't we? Why do we do that? Why do we pray for each other? If you look in the margin right
here at verse five, the word prayer, if you have a margin,
mine says instant and earnest prayer. I mean, Why do we do
that? Don't we believe that all of
God's elect will be saved and not one of them will be lost?
Yes. Then why do we do that? The reason
is because God said so. He said to, he said, pray without
ceasing. He said, ask and it shall be
given you. He said, call while I'm near. He said, the effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much. I love the end of Job,
the end of the book of Job. It says that the Lord turned
the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends. Paul wrote, Brethren, pray for
us. And I ask the same thing. I ask
you to right now, pray for me. I've got 20 something minutes
left of preaching to do. Pray for me. Really. Pray for us. So that's what we
do. Verse 6 says, And when Herod
would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping
between two soldiers, bound with two chains and the keepers before
the door kept the prison. Peter's in a bad situation. He's
in a very bad situation. So are we if we don't have Christ. So are we if we are not found
under the blood of Jesus Christ. You know, most people, they attend
church for morality, moral uplift, community service. Let's get
some things ordered and make a plan. You know why we're here? We're here to worship God. We're
here to beg for forgiveness from sins. And we're here to find
out if we might be under the blood of Jesus Christ. Outside of Christ, we are in
a bad situation. It says Peter was sleeping. How can we sleep at a time like
this? Does he not realize his situation? Our Lord told his disciples,
they're about to crucify me. You wait right here. I'm going
to pray to the father. What'd they all do? They fell
asleep. How can we sleep at a time like this? Destruction is right
around the corner. You know, we're not promised
tomorrow. Peter, they were not promising Peter tomorrow. It says in verse six that Peter
was sleeping between two soldiers. You know who they are? God's
holy law and the punishment for breaking that law. They were
sleeping, they were asleep between law and justice. And that's us. That's us. We go out into this
world and we live our day thinking we're good, good people. I'm
a good person. Everybody I work with is a good
person. Little do we all realize that
we are sleepwalking right between law and justice. God's holy law
and the punishment for breaking it. Peter has the law on one
side and judgment on the other. What that means is he is between
a rock and a very hard place. And that's where sinners are
today. They're caught between God's law and God's judgment,
sleeping through it. It says right here in verse 6
that Peter was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains. Here's what they are. This one
is called sin and this one's called death. Sin and death, they have hold
on him. They're touching him. That sin is touching me. Death
is inevitable. Verse 6 says, and the keepers
before the door kept the prison. That's our adversary and his
army standing outside the cell, keeping the door. What a horrible condition man's
captivity is. It's a horrible condition. Peter
right here is in bondage today and he's scheduled to die tomorrow.
The law that he's laying beside, He is keeping him there justly. You know that? You know, the
law is right. Peter's not the good guy in this
situation. He deserves to be laying there. And the reason
he deserves it is because he cannot get away from his sin.
That's why. Cannot get away from it. What
a pitiful condition we sinners are in. Verse seven says, and
behold, we're about to turn a corner here. There are a couple of phrases
in scripture that God's people will never get tired of hearing
of. One of them is, but God. Oh, how awful the condition is,
but God. This is one of them to verse
seven and behold. No hope without God in the world
and behold. It says the angel of the Lord
came upon him. God came to him. God came to
him. He came to him where he was. He came to him inside the prison. He didn't say, now Peter, I tell
you what, if you can get yourself out of the prison, I can get
you out of town. He didn't say that, did he? He
came right into the heart of the prison. He sent his messenger. And all
of a sudden, verse 7 says, a light shined in the prison. All of a sudden, God turned on
the light. What a wonderful thing. I would
imagine that prison was no comfy place. I would imagine it did
not have lots of windows and sunlight. Oh, what a horrible place. But
all of a sudden, a light came. Peter was laying there sleeping
the sleep of death in total darkness, but God sent a candlestick and
he held up the light. That's what happened. And as
soon as he did that, verse 7 says, Behold, the angel of the Lord
came upon him, and a light shined in the prison, and he smote Peter. You know what Isaiah said? In
the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. High and lifted
up. And I said, woe is me. It just smoked me. It smoked me. Look at Luke 23
with me. Turn over to Luke 23. Luke 23 verse 46 says, And when Jesus had cried with
a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And having said thus, he gave
up the ghost. Now when the centurion saw what
was done, He glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous
man. And all the people that came
together to that site, beholding the things which were done, smoked
their breasts." Every single one of them, when they saw Jesus
Christ actually crucified, every single one of them started smiting
their breasts. When God shines the light of
the glory of Christ, it smites sinners. It smites them. Go back with me over to Acts
chapter 12. Verse 7 says, And behold, 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, arise
up quickly, and his chains fell off from his hands. Now when
God shines the light, and when God smites the soul, and when
God raises the sinner up, the chains fall off the hands. We are born into this world in
bondage. Bondage of sin, bondage of the
flesh, bondage of the law. Everything is total bondage. But as soon as the glory of the
light of Christ shines, and as soon as the sinner sees it, as
soon as God lifts him up to Christ, all the bondage falls off. All
the chains fall off. Our Lord says to sinners that
He has chosen to save, He said, Sin will not have dominion over
you anymore. Death is swallowed up in victory. It's over. You're free. Verse
8, And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy
sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto
him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. Why? because you're
not staying here anymore. I'm not leaving you here. I am
setting you free, free from the law, free from its penalty. You're free. Follow me. Where are you taking me? To Jesus
Christ. That's what centers here. Follow
me. Where are you taking me? to Jesus
Christ. I'm taking you to Jesus Christ. Verse 9 says, And he went out
and followed him, and wist not that it was true which was done
by the angel, but thought he saw a vision. Now you have to
turn with me over to Psalm 126. I wish you could be in the study
with me as the Lord blesses this to my heart because I wrote in
my notes, next to the word turn, I wrote as quickly as you can.
Man, this was freedom to a soul in bondage. Water to the thirsting. Psalm 126 verse 1 says, When
the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that
dream. We all thought we were in a dream.
I'd been in bondage all my life, in bondage all my life, in bondage
all my life, and one day, I didn't do anything, but God came and
He turned my captivity, and I thought, this is too good to be true.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with
singing. Then said they among the heathen,
The Lord hath done great things for them. Even the heathen said
that. Verse 3, The Lord hath done great
things for us, whereof we are glad. Turn again our captivity,
O Lord. It was so wonderful the first
time. Turn it again. I hope he turns it again today. This bondage I walked in with,
let it go again. As the streams in the south,
they that sow in tears, they're going to reap in joy. He that
goeth forth, weeping, bearing precious seed. What's the precious
seed? The word of God. Shall doubtless, there's no doubt
about it. Come again with rejoicing, bringing
his sheaves with him. Too good to be true. That's Peter.
And that's a sinner. You know, do you ever feel that
deadness? You ever feel that dullness?
You ever feel that spiritual sleep? Now, I'm sleepy. I'm talking
about spiritual sleepiness. But God, and behold, that spirit
comes and it's almost like he puts a light inside here. That's Peter. That's every sinner
who is set free. Set free. Go back over to Acts
chapter 12. Verse 9 says, And he went out
and followed him, and wist not that it was true which was done
by the angel, but thought he saw a vision. When they were
past the first and second ward, The journey of life, the river
of death. Now this messenger right here
is God's Holy Spirit. He has come to this center. He
has gotten this center. He has called this center by
saying, follow me. He's laid hold of him. He's dragging
him out and he's going to carry him all the way through the first
and second ward. The journey of life, the river
of death. Verse 10 says, When they were
past the first and second ward, they came unto the iron gate
that leadeth unto the city. What city do you think that is?
That's the city that has foundations. That's the city where Christ
dwells. Verse 10, When they were past
the first and second ward, they came unto the iron gate that
leadeth unto the city, which opened unto them of his own accord. It was already wide open waiting.
They didn't have to open that door. That gate leads out of the city
of destruction and into the beautiful city of God. Verse 10 goes on
to say, And they went out and passed on through one street,
and forthwith the angel departed from him. Why did the angel depart? The reason is because the angel
was not the object. The angel was not the goal. The
messenger is not going to get any of the glory. None of it. That's what happened to Philip
whenever he baptized the Ethiopian eunuch. It says that the spirit
of the Lord caught away Philip and the eunuch saw him no more.
After Philip baptized him, the Lord just took him out, saw him
no more. Why? Because this is not about
the messenger. Verse 11, And when Peter was
come to himself, He told him, I want you to get your coat on
and you put your shoes on and you gird thyself and you follow
me. Well, now he is sitting and he's
clothed and he's in his right mind. And when Peter was come
to himself, he said, now I know of a surety that the Lord hath
sent his angel and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod and
from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. Now I know
of a surety. Paul said, I am persuaded that
he is able. How about you? Now I know. Now I know. Verse 12, and when
he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary,
the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered
together praying. As soon as he came out from among
the people, he gathered together with God's saints who were persuaded
of the same thing, seeking the Lord, giving thanks to the Lord,
calling on the Lord, begging the Lord, Verse 13, 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 they said unto her, Thou
art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said
they, It is his angel. But Peter continued knocking,
and when they had opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. And so are we, aren't we? So are we. She was so, that girl
was so excited to hear Peter's voice, she forgot to open the
door. She ran in and started telling
everybody, Peter is outside the door. God has delivered Peter. We pray for our loved ones. We
pray for our children. Oh, we pray and we pray. Is God
going to deliver him? I don't know. Let's keep praying. Let's just keep praying. Let's
keep calling on the Lord. Let's keep calling on the Lord.
And all of a sudden, one day, we realize God shined a light
in the prison. A light has come on. That story, here's another illustration,
I don't know who said it, but that man came to his pastor and
said, did you hear about old so-and-so? No, what? God saved that man. Really? Yeah. The man said, I'll never
despair since God saved that man. And the pastor said, I'll
never despair since God saved me. I'm thankful God saved him,
but what I'm amazed over is that God saved me. Amazed. God turned on the light. Verse
16, But Peter continued knocking, and when they had opened the
door and saw him, they were astonished. But he, beckoning unto them with
the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord
had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go, show these things
unto James and to the brethren. And he departed and went into
another place." What was he doing? He was going around telling everybody
how great things the Lord had done for him. That's what he
was doing. They were all making over Peter.
He opened the door and they're all, Peter, Peter, Peter. And
he said, He said, to God be the glory. The Lord has brought me out of
this prison. All glory and praise to the Lamb
that was slain, who has borne all our sins and cleansed every
stain. Thine the glory. That's how this
story ends. That's how eternity ends. That's
how every chosen sinner that God redeems spends eternity. Holler in thine the glory. Hallelujah. Amen. We're going to sing that. Let's stand together.