When you can do nothing else, Pray

Q: What does the Bible say about the power of prayer?

The Bible emphasizes that prayer is powerful and essential, especially in times of distress, as seen in Acts 12:5. In Acts 12:5, we see the early church earnestly praying for Peter while he was in prison, demonstrating the belief in the efficacy of prayer. Prayer is not merely a duty but a vital communication with God where believers express their dependence on His power and provision. It becomes particularly significant when all other means seem impossible, reminding us that, although we may be limited, God's capabilities are limitless. In moments of hardship, prayer becomes the mechanism through which God's sovereign will is enacted in our lives.

Q: How do we know God answers prayers?

We know God answers prayers because of His faithfulness and sovereignty, which are demonstrated in Scripture and personal experience. God's faithfulness in answering prayers is affirmed in Scripture and through the experiences of believers. Romans 4:20-21 highlights that faith recognizes God's ability to fulfill His promises, leading us to pray with confidence that He is both willing and able to respond. The church's prayer for Peter's deliverance in Acts 12 is a testament to this truth; even when they were shocked at the answer, it confirmed their faith in God's power. Thus, prayer becomes an expression of trust in God's character, knowing that, irrespective of the immediate outcomes, He hears and responds to the prayers of His people.

Q: Why is prayer important for Christians?

Prayer is vital for Christians as it nurtures our relationship with God and is a source of strength, especially during trials. Prayer serves as a lifeline for Christians, fostering an intimate relationship with God. As seen in Acts 12, during times of persecution and uncertainty, the church resorted to prayer when other means were unavailable. It highlights the importance of reliance on God rather than self-sufficiency. Prayer also brings peace amidst storms, allowing believers to rest confidently in God's sovereignty. By engaging in prayer, Christians align their hearts with God's will, reminding them of His presence and power in their lives, ultimately leading to spiritual growth and resilience.

Q: What can we learn from Peter's experience in prison?

Peter's calmness in prison teaches us about the peace and assurance found in trusting God's plan, even facing death. Peter's experience in prison, where he remained peaceful and rested despite knowing he would face execution, illustrates profound faith and trust in God's sovereignty. By sleeping amidst imminent danger (Acts 12:6), Peter exemplifies the peace that comes from knowing God is in control. His knowledge of Christ, understanding of sin's consequences, and assurance of God's promises allowed him to rest. In facing trials, Christians can learn to trust in God's timing and protection, reminding us that true peace comes from a reliance on Him, regardless of the circumstances.

Q: How does God's sovereignty relate to our prayers?

God's sovereignty ensures that our prayers align with His will, showcasing His control over all situations. Understanding God's sovereignty is crucial in the context of prayer. It reassures believers that their prayers are part of God's ordained plan and that He governs all aspects of life (Romans 8:28). In Acts 12, even when circumstances seemed dire, the church's prayers were not in vain; rather, they were part of God's larger purpose for Peter and the church. This perspective allows Christians to approach prayer not with an expectation of specific outcomes but with a heart of submission to the divine will, recognizing that God's plans are ultimately for our good and His glory.

Let's begin reading in Acts chapter
12 and verse 1. 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 a sword. And because
he saw that it pleased the Jews, he preceded father 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 quadrants of soldiers
to keep him, intending after Easter to bring him forth to
the people. Peter, therefore, was kept in
prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God
for him. 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. And behold, the angel of the
Lord came upon him, and the light shined in the prison. And he
smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Rise up
quickly, and his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him,
Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he
said unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And
he went out and followed him, and wished 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, they came into
the iron gate which leadeth unto the city, which opened to them
of his own accord. And they went out and passed
on through one street, and forthwith the angel departed from him.
And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a certainty
that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of
the hand of Herod, and from the expectation of the people of
the Jews. And when he had considered the
thing, he come 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. They said unto her, They art
mad. But she constantly affirmed that
it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel,
his ghost. But Peter continued knocking,
and when they had opened the door, they saw him. They were
astonished. But he beckoned unto them with
a 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 to
another place. Now as soon as it was day, there
was no small stir among the soldiers what was become of Peter. And
when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined
the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death.
And he went down from Judea to Caesarea and there abode." I
just want to look at this incident this afternoon and see if we
can learn some things to instruct us and encourage us. No doubt
at this time this was the most severe trial that the church
had faced up until this time. Before, they had been persecuted,
but the persecution they had suffered up to this time, beginning
in Acts chapter 3, was from false religion. It was from Judaism,
from the Pharisees and from the scribes. The Pharisees had persecuted
the Lord Jesus. The scribes had plotted His death.
And when they killed the Lord, then they turned on the church,
and they persecuted the church. At first, Even though it was
some difficult persecutions, it increased the church. They
threatened them. You remember what took place
with James and John. Don't speak in his name anymore.
And then, of course, after that, they proceeded to beat them.
But the more false religion persecuted the church, the more they prospered,
and the more full of joy they were. But then in the Sabbath
chapter, the persecution deepened. A different kind of persecution.
Saul of Tarsus made havoc of the church. He went into foreign
cities there in Israel and arrested men and women and children and
put them in jail. And sometimes he gave witness
against them and got them put to death. Do you remember the
stoning of Stephen in the seventh chapter of Acts? So the persecution
was bad up until this time, but here in chapter 12, There's no
doubt that it was a different kind of persecution. It was a
persecution the church had not faced before. And we're told
here that in verse 1, something that the church began to suffer
that it had never suffered before. You and I know nothing about
this, brothers and sisters, but I bet we will. We can see it
coming, and if we don't suffer it in our lifetime, I bet you
our children will. And here's the persecution that
came on the church, and this is one of the things that made
it most difficult for the church. About that time, Herod the king
stretched forth his hand to harass, to intimidate certain of the
church. Here, the civil authority turned
on the church. Now you and I know, we've experienced
this in our country and a lot of other countries, that God
uses the civil authorities, the powers that be, to protect His
church. You and I are here this afternoon
and we enjoy a great bit of civil liberties. We have the right,
even the protection, of our local government and even our federal
government to be here to worship. without being harassed by anybody. It's against the law for someone
to come in here and disturb our worship. What if that changed?
What if the government, instead of protecting us, not only ceased
their protection, but what if they turned on us and they themselves
become the persecutor? And that's what had happened
to the early church. reading a little article that
Brother Larry gave me the other day, and it shows a picture of
a young man who was converted from Islam to Christianity. And I have no idea about his
conversion. I'm not here to judge whether
he was a Christian or not. But here's what happened. When
he was converted, when he professed Christ and denied Islam, they
got him down in the street and cut his head off. They showed
it on national TV over in Egypt. You don't hear anything about
it here. Bulgarik, the dictator, was a brutal man, just as Saddam
Hussein was a brutal man. But as brutal as they were, to
a great degree, they protected Christians. They protected them
from Islam. Now the protection has been taken
away. And I thought this is a sad an
almost offensive thing, they had our State Department require
the Iraqis to put in their Constitution what they call the Repugnancy
Clause. Anything that was repugnant to
Islam was not to be put in there. Well, you know one of the things
that's most repugnant to Islam? Jesus Christ is Lord. And that's
what that young man professed. And everybody now in Egypt that
professes that Jesus Christ is Lord, he's subject to have his
head taken off. And they said in Iraq, since
they got that repugnancy clause put in their constitution, hundreds
of thousands of professing Christians have left and had to flee that
country, even in a place like Syria. What would you and I do,
brothers and sisters? What would we do if we suffered
the same thing that the early church suffered? What if the
government turned on us and not only ceased to protect us, but
they become the chief persecutor? It opens the door to all kinds
of other persecution. And I think probably the church,
even here in this country, is looking at this now down the
road somewhere. That's why I say this is a different
type of persecution. But something else here also,
that we see is found here in verse 27 and 29 of chapter 11. Here is another reason why I
say not only did false religions still hate the Church. Boy, they
were glad when this king cut off James' head. They rejoiced
and got rid of another preacher. That is what they said. Praise
God for it. They were glad for that. They were glad for that. The
king and his government turned on the Christians. But there
is something else that they suffered and made their persecution even
worse. Look here in verse 27 of chapter
11. And in these days came prophets
from Jerusalem unto Antioch, and there stood up one of them
named Agathas, and signified by the Spirit that there should
be great a drought, famine, throughout all the world, which came to
pass in the days of Claudius Caesar, then the disciples, every
man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto
the brethren which dwelt in Judea." Boy, here's something else. In the midst of false religion
still hating them and persecuting them, in the midst of the government
turning on them, of all things here They have a drought. Ain't that amazing? A famine.
You and I suffered just a little bit of a drought this summer,
didn't we? And some of us sort of suddenly
realized, what if this happened for two years? Who would we get
food? Our gardens, you wouldn't plant
a garden. The farmers wouldn't plant their
crops. There'd be no fruit trees left. It would all die. That's
what happened. And if they got any relief, it
had to come from some outside source. See what I'm saying?
This was an awful persecution that the church found itself
into. Never before had they found themselves in such a state of
persecution. Everything before that had protected
them had been taken away. Things that relieved them and
aided them had been taken away. And now they were persecuted.
And you know something? They laid passive. They laid
passive. I doubt if there's any preaching
going on publicly. Do you think there was? It surely
wasn't done by Peter. He's in prison. James ceased
because they cut his head off. And you find that I read to you
that everybody else was hiding out. They didn't want the authorities
to know where they were. For the most part, the church
was passive. It could do anything publicly.
What would you do, brothers and sisters, if we found ourselves
in a situation like this? What would we do? Would we be
here and worship this evening? Would we profess Christ publicly?
What would we do? You want to know what they did? Look
in verse 5. Peter, therefore, was kept in
prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God
for Him. When they couldn't do anything
else, when public preaching and public worship ceased, what did
they do? They prayed. If I had one thing,
one single thing, And I don't know of anything else that I
would ever promote over preaching. But if I ever had to promote
one thing over preaching, you know what it would be? Prayer. Prayer. When they could not do
anything else, they prayed. They prayed unto God. Somebody said the least we can
do is pray. I tell you, sometimes that's
the most we can do. And it's all they could do. Pray. They pray. The old John Bunyan, he went
through some terrible nerve problems, emotional problems. And he got
so scared to open his Bible, he couldn't read. And he went
for two whole years without opening his Bible and reading. And he
said he dared not speak to anybody about the Lord because he thought
he was a wretched, doomed hypocrite himself. But you know what he
did for two years? He did nothing but pray. He did
nothing but pray. If you can't read, pray. If preaching has ceased, pray. If you can't gather with the
Lord's people in public worship, pray. When you're brought to
the place you can do nothing else, pray. That's what they
did. Pray. Prayer was made without
ceasing of the church unto God for Him. I'm convinced of this,
brothers and sisters, that where there's a church that prays,
a little preaching will go a long way. For you've got great preaching
and there's not prayer, it will accomplish very little. I remember
going to a church one time north of here. A dear friend of mine
was preaching, a fine preacher, one of the best preachers this
generation has ever had. They began the service and ended the
service without prayer. And somebody said they forgot
to pray. And you know why they forgot to pray? There was not
an attitude. There was not a spirit of prayer
there among that flock. Isn't that sad? What will preaching
do any good if there is no prayer? What will singing do? How can
we worship without having that attitude of prayer? This early
church, when they could do nothing else, they got together and prayer
was made continually unto God for them. If I had one request to make
of you this afternoon, it wouldn't be for your money. And I need
some of that. I need some of that. I can't
live without some of your money. I appreciate your support. But
that wouldn't be my request of you. It wouldn't be any good
to be here if you weren't here. I covet your presence. If you
weren't here, then I'm not going to be here. I covet your love. Oh, I do covet your love. But
if I had one request to make of you on my behalf, you know
what it would be? Brothers and sisters, spend some
time alone with God for me. That's the best thing you can
do for me and for one another. Spend some time alone with the
Lord that His glory would be revealed here in our worship.
Spend some time along that the lost would be saved by God's
grace here in our services. Spend some time pleading with
the Lord to make His will known, His will be done in these services. Pray, pray, having an attitude
of prayer. Prayer was made without ceasing to God or to Him. I was talking,
I told you this morning, I was talking to Brother John Mitchell.
He's so weak, so feeble, laying there on his bed. I told him
the other day before I hung up with him, I said, John, pray
for me. While you're laying there in
your sickness and illness, pray to God for me. That's what I
want. If you're reduced to nothing
else, brothers and sisters, you can't do anything else, then
pray. When a heart is broken up with
a bitter, woeful cut, then it's the time to go to Christ all
along to pray without ceasing. And there's something else about
praying here, and we see something about the prayer of faith. We
see what the prayer of faith is. I think sometimes we misunderstand
this whole thing about praying and faith. We often think The
only way to pray is if we believe and we know that God is going
to give us what we request. Well, sometimes that's so. But you know, the prayer of faith
mainly is this. It's not so much we know that
he's going to do what we ask him to do, but it's this, that
we know he's able. That's the prayer of faith. Do
you think that this early church believed the Lord was going to
rescue Peter? Well, they didn't, did they?
They were amazed, they were shocked when he showed up and began to
knock on the door. They said, it's his ghost, it's
his ghost. Well, what is the prayer of faith
then? Well, it's this, that when they
pray, They knew the Lord was able to do what they were asking
Him to do. Is He going to? We don't know.
We don't know. That would be presumptuous of
them to say yes, because they didn't know if He's going to
or not. But they said He's able. He's able. Now here's where I
get that. Romans chapter 4. Listen to this.
Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief,
but was strong in faith giving glory to God, being fully persuaded
that what God had promised he was able to fulfill. He was able. Prayer is not always
knowing he's going to do it, but the prayer of faith is knowing
he's able if he will. And that's the prayer of faith.
And that's the way this church was prayed. Lord, if you will. You can make me clean. You can. You can. And listen to Paul. I know whom
I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that
which I have committed to him against that day. That's faith.
He's able. He's able. When you and I are
convinced that God is able, what does that do? It produces a respond
in our heart. And what is that respond? We
pray. We pray. Listen to these passages of Scripture.
The Holy Spirit often encourages our faith, encourages us to pray. Call upon me in the day of trouble,
and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. The Lord
hear thee in the dead trouble, the God of Jacob defend thee,
and send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion.
The Lord is good, a stronghold in the dead trouble, and He knows
them that trust in Him. And I say unto you, Ask, and
you shall receive. Seek, and you shall find. Knock,
and it shall be opened to you. The Lord Jesus tells us these
things to strengthen our faith and believe that He is able to
do just what He says. Is He able to deliver? Call on
Me and I'll deliver thee. Then call on Him if you believe
He's able. Is He able to defend you from
all your enemies inwardly and outwardly? Then ask Him too. He's able. Is He able to send
help from heaven? Then pray to that end. Is He
able to strengthen you? Then ask Him. Is He a stronghold
in the time of trouble? Then pray to Him to that end.
Pray to Him to that end. That's the prayer of faith, believing
that He is able. The prayer of faith. The prayer of faith. If we believe
that He's going to answer us, and this may sound contrary to
the Scripture, if you believe He's going to answer me when
I ask, He's going to answer me, and He don't answer, it may confuse
the dickens out of you. And you and I have heard people
say, you know, we've asked Him and He's going to do it. And
some of them even say when He's going to do it. And then it don't
happen. And they make all kinds of excuses
for it not happening. But here's the prayer of faith.
He's able. He's able. And that's the way
they were praying. We know they prayed in faith
because the Lord answered their prayer. He answered their prayer. When you can't do anything else,
that's a good time to pray. Good time to pray. Verse 6, let's look at this just
for a minute. What did Peter do when he couldn't
do anything else? We've seen what the church did
when they couldn't do anything else. Peter's preaching had ceased. He's probably witnessing to these
two soldiers. He'd probably been praying, watching.
But you know, there comes a time, brothers and sisters, when we
can't do anything else. And that's the time just to rest.
And that's the time when Peter just said, I'm going to sleep.
Did you notice that in verse 6? 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. Have you ever spent half your night
tossing and turning on the bed? Boy, you can't sleep. As you
get older, somebody said something about in the kitchen, as you
get older, man, you appreciate a good night's sleep, don't you?
You wake up about one or two o'clock in the morning, and you're
just tossing and turning, and you find yourself, Lord, let
me sleep. Give your beloved rest. Give
your beloved sleep. Well, Peter was sleeping. And
you know what's amazing about that? Here's what's so amazing about
Peter sleeping. Peter was a man that was very
easily intimidated. He had something about him that
the very minute the Lord left him or wasn't there to uphold
him, Peter was scared to death of other people. There's a little
maid that made him deny the Lord Jesus Christ, that he even knew
Him. Here's one of them. I don't know
him. I don't know him. And even cursed
and swore. I don't know the man. He feared
a little maid. In Galatians chapter 2, he denied
the gospel. That's what Paul says. He denied
the gospel. Because he saw the Jews, his
Jewish friends coming down from Jerusalem, and he was eating
with the Gentiles, and he denied the gospel because of the fear
of man. This is why I say the Lord give
this man sleep, because here he was between two rough Roman
soldiers. They had him bound up with chains. The guards were guarding the
door. And what was Peter doing? He was sleeping. He was sleeping. Well, there's a time to rest,
isn't there? When you can't do anything else, then rest. Rest
in the Lord and sleep. I'll tell you something else.
This was the very night. The next day, they was going
to cut his head off. Would you have been sleeping? He's sleeping. I still look at that picture,
Larry, you gave me. This guy, that young man down on the ground,
the knife was at his throat. Man, I thought, my goodness,
that's violent. They said he slowly severed his
head from his body. Slowly. Can you imagine that? The king had already killed James,
John's brother. And Peter knew that. Cut his
head off. And tomorrow, they're going to
get my head. They're going to lay me down
on a block and somebody's going to raise up her axe or somebody's
going to get under my throat with a knife and they're going
to sever my head. And yet he's sleeping. God gave him rest. That's a wonderful calling, ain't
it? Rest in his soul, rest in his
body. You know what? I think sometimes
for you and I to draw out grace from the bosom of our Savior,
we have to be put in these circumstances, these situations. Peter would
have never known the depths of Christ's grace unless he had
been there where he was. We've got to be put in certain
situations of suffering and heartaches and weakness to draw out the
sweetness and strength that's in the bosom of God's dear and
blessed Son. And that's where Peter found
himself. What kind of grace would it be to cause this man to lay
down and sleep when the very next morning he is coming to
lose his head? You think of this, Peter wasn't
ignorant of death and what come after either, was he? He knew
there was a hell to shun and a heaven to gain. He knew all
about that. He knew all about the afterlife.
He knew all about the devil desiring to sift him his wheat. And no
doubt how Satan would be there at death to torment him, to try
to pull him and snatch him and harass him. But none of that
bothered him. He lays down and he sleeps. God
gave this man rest. Isn't that a wonderful thing
to contemplate, brothers and sisters? What's going to come
on us? What will you and I face as a church and as individuals
before we leave this life? Will we face this? We may face
it even worse. Isn't it wonderful to know that
there's such grace in the Son of God that He can let us lay
in sleep in the midst of our enemies? Let me give you these six things
in closing. Just take me a minute. These six things. These six things
Peter knew. He knew these six things. He knew the Lord Jesus Christ.
You want to know why he could lay down and sleep? You know
why he had rest in his soul? He knew the Lord Jesus Christ. He laid this profession twice.
Peter, whom do men say that I am? Oh, they say, you're a liar,
you're a liar, Jeremiah 1. Who do you say I am, Peter? You're
the Christ. You're the Son of the living
God. That's the first time he ever professed Christ. The second
time, the Lord Jesus said, will you go away? He said, Lord, to
whom shall I go? You have the words of eternal
life. And I believe and I'm sure that
you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Do you know that?
Do you know the Lord Jesus said, those who profess this, the gates
of hell shall not prevail against them? Do you know the Lord? The prince has a little plaque
on the right side of his house, just as you're going in his door.
Do you know my Lord? I tell you, if you know the Lord,
you can lay down and rest and sleep. Secondly, Peter knew this. He knew what Christ had done
on his behalf concerning his sins. Here is what Peter said
in 1 Peter 2.24, "...who bar our sins in his own body on the
tree." He barred my sins, Peter said. In 1 Peter 3.18, he said,
"...Christ hath once suffered for sins The just for the unjust
that he might bring us to God. He bore my sins. He suffered. He was punished for my sins.
What is it that makes us afraid of death? What is it that makes
us afraid of the judgment to come? Why are we so tormented
in our conscience about eternity? It's our sins. Well, when we
believe that Jesus Christ has satisfied for our sins, then
those sins are gone. If the sins are gone, then the
torment is gone. The guilt is gone. And then we
can lay down and rest. And Peter knew that. He believed
that. He said, with his stripes, I'm
healed. I told you about a little story
I read years ago. about this young teenager. He
was a mountain climber and got stuck in a blizzard, and he froze
to death. And when they finally found him,
he had this little note scribbled, My greatest fear. Will God forgive
my sins? And that's the way he died. Peter
wasn't concerned about that. He knew the answer. Yes, he had. All my sins have been purged.
They've been washed. I have a Redeemer, he said. I'm
not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, but
with the precious blood of the Lamb of God. He could face death. He could face dying, the judgment,
and eternity because he knew his sins had been punished in
another. Thirdly, he knew this. He knew
that he had an advocate with the Father. One to plead His
cause there in heaven and to maintain that cause. He was on
earth and all around Him seemed to be against Him. But He slept. You know why? Because He knew
heaven was for Him. He had a Mediator. He had an
Advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ the Righteous. You
say, Bruce, how in the world do you know He believed that?
Remember what the Lord Jesus told him, Satan has desired to
sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith
fail not. And here he was in the midst
of this trouble, and he knew that he had an advocate with
the Father. Here is what David said, Thou,
O Lord, art a shield for me, and my glory and the lifter up
of my head. Therefore I laid me down and
slept. I woke, for thou hast sustained
me, and I will not be afraid, though ten thousand of people,
or trials, or troubles, or anything else, shall come against me round
about." Here is another thing David said, I will both lay me
down and sleep in peace. For thou only, Lord, makest me
to dwell in safety." If heaven is for us, why does it matter
who is against us? And you know how we know heaven
is for us? Because Jesus is for us. If Jesus is for us, heaven
is for us. Because He pulls that kind of
weight in heaven, you know. He knows the Father. And He is
in our Father's presence. And the Father sent him there
for this reason, to plead and maintain our cause. I tell you what, brothers, are
you in trouble? Are you in trouble? Do you need
an advocate with the Father? Have you sinned? Do you need
access into the Father's presence? Oh, there's somebody there. And
He'll plead your cause for you. And you say, Bruce, but I'm guilty. That's the only kind of cases
He takes. And he has never lost a case.
We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. Use Him. Go to the Father through
Him. Plead His blood. Plead His marriage. Plead His intercession. And lay
yourself down and rest. Fourthly is this. Peter knew
this. And he said this in 1 Peter chapter
3 and verse 22. Listen to this. Listen to this
and believe this and take this into your heart. You talk about
having you in a day of trouble when everything is against the
church and you can't do anything but pray. Listen to this. Jesus
Christ is gone into heaven and is on the right hand of God,
angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him. That's what Peter said in 1 Peter
3.22. Jesus Christ is gone into heaven. And Herod is subject
unto him. Oh, no wonder he's sleeping.
Peter, aren't you afraid of Herod? That puppet? That pawn in my
master's hands? There's one greater than him. King Jesus upon his throne. Oh, brothers and sisters, why
should we ever fear? I fear who is going to be the
next president because I fear our country is going to fall.
But beyond that, why should we be afraid? I will not fear what
man can do unto me. Why? Because Jesus Christ is
ruling it all. He is sovereign Lord of heaven
and earth. The King's heart is in His hands. And he just turns it wherever
he's pleased for it to go. Who'll be our next president?
Whoever Jesus sets on the, and puts in the White House. Do you
believe that? I'm going to go vote, and I know who I'm going
to vote for, but I'll tell you who'll occupy the White House,
whoever Jesus puts up there. Two years from now, I'll tell
you who'll be sitting in the West Wing, whoever Jesus Christ
sets there. And I'm content with that, aren't
you? If it's mercy He wants to show our country, or if it's
judgment that He's ready to bring on our country, I'm content to
know that whoever He puts in there, and whatever that president
does, every breath he takes, every move he makes, every word
he says is subject to the King of kings and Lord of lords. And I don't care who's in there,
by the grace of God, I'm just going to lay my head down and
sleep like people do. They're going to cut your head
off. They're not going to do nothing but what Jesus lets them do.
Don't we believe that? Do you believe he's some sort
of a little peon man that's wringing his hands and praying and hoping?
No. Peter said he's gone into heaven.
He's on the right hand of God. And everything and everybody
is subject. Subject. They're his subjects. Fifthly is this. Peter had this
promise. He personally had this promise.
And I think he took it to heart. Remember when the Lord was out
on the Mount of Olives and he was ready to ascend back to heaven?
Remember the last things he told his disciples? He told Peter
this. Here is what he told Peter. And Peter took this to heart. I will never, I will never, I
promise you, Peter, I know what's coming to you, buddy. I know
some of the things that you're going to suffer. I know where
they're going to lead you, where they're going to put you, how
they're going to threaten you. I know how you're going to leave this
world, Peter. I promise you this, I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. Wherever you go, dear child of
God, whatever situation you find yourself in, you have a companion
that abides in you. Do you believe that? He dwells
in the hearts of every believer. And He'll never leave you when
you go through the waters, when you go through the floods. He
will be with you. Oh, how wonderful that is. How
wonderful that is. I tell you, I don't care where
I go, what happens to me, if the King's with me. Isn't that
wonderful? That's wonderful, ain't it, Wayne?
The King's with you. The company of the King. Oh,
we're poor paupers in ourselves. Poor servants. But we have the
presence and the company of the King. I will never leave you.
And lastly is this. Experience. Peter was a little
bit experienced at this. In chapter 5, he'd been in jail
before. Remember this? They'd already
put him in jail. The angel of the Lord came and
let him and John out of jail then. And Peter knew by experience,
and brothers and sisters, experience means something. I wouldn't want
to go back to being a young Christian. There's a lot of things about
being a young Christian I still covet. I wish I had some of that
energy learned just talking about a young Christian has. But there's
some things about being a young Christian I wouldn't want to
experience again. I appreciate 37, 38 years looking back over my little
life and knowing never one time has the Lord failed me. He has
been there every time. Peter thought as he lay between
these two soldiers and the soldiers guarding the doors. I wonder
if he didn't think, I've been here before. I remember just
a few years ago when I laid in that prison, me and John up in
Jerusalem, and the Lord sent His angel. He did it then, and
if He's pleased to do it, He can do it now. He will not fail
me. Brothers and sisters, my experience
has taught me this. The Lord will show up. And He'll
show up at the best time, at the right time. He'll never fail
you. He'll never fail you. It was
grace that brought me safe this far. And grace will lead me on. That's been my experience. And
I think that's some of yours too. God bless this Word.

When you can do nothing else, Pray

What does the Bible say about the power of prayer?

How do we know God answers prayers?

Why is prayer important for Christians?

What can we learn from Peter's experience in prison?

How does God's sovereignty relate to our prayers?

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When you can do nothing else, Pray

What does the Bible say about the power of prayer?

How do we know God answers prayers?

Why is prayer important for Christians?

What can we learn from Peter's experience in prison?

How does God's sovereignty relate to our prayers?

Sermon Transcript

About Bruce Crabtree

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