Wake Up to a Miracle

We open the Word of God to the book of Acts, chapter 12. I want to conclude today the series on the miracles in the life of Peter, reading Acts, chapter 12, verses 1 through 19.

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 a sword. And because he saw it please 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 Passover to bring him forth to the people. Peter therefore was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing by 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, an angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shone in the prison. And he smote Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, Arise 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 saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out and followed him, and knew not that it was true which was done by the angel, but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and the second guard, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city, which opened to them of its own accord.

And they went out, and passed on through one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. 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. 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.

And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a maid 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, 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.

Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers concerning 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 their abode.

How marvelous it is the way God answers prayer. If you were supposed to be executed the next morning, do you think you'd go to sleep the night before? Peter did. In Acts chapter 12, we're told that Peter slept so soundly that the angel had to do what mothers sometimes have to do with their children.

The angel had to smite Peter to wake him up. Imagine having an angel for your alarm clock. Peter slept so soundly that God had to wake him up and say, Peter, I've come to deliver you.

It's a marvelous thing to wake up to a miracle. Many people wake up on a given morning and they say, Oh, I wish it were night. And they go to bed at night and say, Oh, I wish it were morning.

There are many, many people who find themselves in prison. Some people have put themselves in prison because of sin and disobedience and wrong living. They have enslaved themselves.

They are wearing chains that they themselves have forged. They have put themselves behind doors which they themselves have locked, and they are in prison. But there are many people who find themselves in prison not because of disobeying God but because of obeying God.

There are some who go through difficulties of one kind or another. Circumstances are difficult. God never promised to you and me that the Christian life would be easy.

And I may be speaking just now to someone who says, Pastor, I find myself in circumstances not unlike Peter. It's dark. There are chains on me that I did not forge because of people or circumstances or problems.

Here I am, and what am I going to do? Sometimes people find themselves in bondage because of Satan. I don't know when in my ministry I have seen more occasions for the onslaughts of Satan. We are living in a day and age when Satan knows his time is short, and he is attacking not only Christian leaders but Christian followers.

And there are people who find themselves in bondage to discouragement, and sometimes discouragement leads to that dungeon of depression. And I tell you, there are people today who are looking up and saying, God, what am I going to do? Well the Apostle Peter tells us what to do. If we would take our TV cameras and all the equipment necessary for the 10 o'clock news and we were to come down to this prison where Peter is in bondage and interview him.

Here it is the night before. Peter, what do you plan to do? Go to sleep. Oh, but Peter, you're going to be executed tomorrow.

Well, that's what he said, but I'm going to go to sleep. You know, if knowing you're going to die alters your life a great deal, something may be wrong with your life. Peter said, I'm going to go on just like I've always done.

But Peter, how can you sleep? How can you have such peace and calm and poise? You're chained to two soldiers. Two other soldiers are standing at the door. There are 16 soldiers who have been assigned to you, and their job is to make sure you don't get out like you did last time.

Earlier in the book of Acts, they had arrested Peter and the other apostles, and they got out. And it's not going to happen this time. Peter, where do you get this calmness, this poise, this confidence? Well, says Peter, I'm not trusting in myself.

I'm trusting in the Lord. Now, as you read this passage, you discover that there are four marvelous certainties that Peter rests on, and this is what carries him through. There are four very wonderful certainties, and Peter, when he gets on that pallet, pillows his head on the divine certainties that come only from God.

Now, the reason you and I get distraught and worried and upset and frantic is because we are trusting ourselves or we're trusting the circumstances. Peter said, I'm pillowing my head on the certainties of God. Now, what are these four certainties on which you and I may rest and find victory and deliverance and power and peace in a world that's so full of bondage and chains and turmoil and strife? Certainty number one, as Peter went to bed that night, he said to himself, God is on the throne.

God is on the throne. Now wait just a minute, Peter. Herod is on the throne.

Look at him. Herod. He was from that family of murderers and liars.

You remember the Herod who had killed the little babies in Bethlehem? One of his relatives. The Herod who killed John the Baptist? One of his relatives. A family of liars and murderers.

And Herod is on the throne, and Herod says, arrest Peter, and they arrested him. Arrest James, and they arrested him. Kill James, and they cut off his head.

Put Peter in prison. Guard him with 16 soldiers. Make sure he doesn't get out.

After Passover, I'm going to kill Peter. I want to be in good standing with my Jewish subjects. The Word of God says, Herod stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.

That word vex is the same word that Stephen uses back in Acts chapter 7 to describe what the Jews went through in Egypt. In other words, Herod became Pharaoh, and Herod said, bondage, oppression, persecution, murder, and he stretched forth his hands to kill, to please the people. But Herod's on the throne.

No God is on the throne. You know, my friend, no matter who may be on the thrones of this earth, God is ruling in the throne of heaven. Isaiah the prophet found that out in the year that King Uzziah died and the throne was empty.

I saw also the Lord high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. When Isaiah got his eyes off of the earthly throne and saw the heavenly throne, then he realized that life hadn't really fallen apart. You see, our problem, folks, is that we look around us and we see that this is out of control and that is falling apart, and we forget to look over and up and see God on the throne.

And so Peter went to bed that night, and he pillowed his head on the wonderful certainty that God is on the throne. You say, Pastor, how can you say God is on the throne when James was killed? Did you ever ask yourself the question, why was James killed and Peter left alive? Because God's on the throne. God has a plan for every life.

Was the church praying for James? Yes. Did God answer prayer for James? Yes. Did God deliver James as he did Peter? No.

But he still answered prayer for James. James was the first of the apostles to be martyred. James went into the presence of the Lord when they beheaded him.

But God had led in the life of James. James died not by accident but by divine appointment. If you watch the lives of the saints, you'll be confused.

Why was James slain and Peter delivered? Why does this one get sick and this one get well? Why does this one get healed? People pray and this one dies because God's on the throne. And you and I have lived long enough to know that God knows what he's doing. I can't explain what God is doing.

I don't have to explain, even if I could. We don't live by explanations. We live by promises.

And Peter just settled himself down and said, I guess I'll take a good night's rest because I can pillow my head on this certainty, God is on the throne. You see, my friends, the real prisoner in Acts chapter 12 is not Peter, it's Herod. Herod is the prisoner, a prisoner of sin and lust and pride, a prisoner of power, a prisoner of Satan, a murderer, a liar.

Herod was an Edomite. The Edomites were the descendants of Esau. Esau, Jacob.

Esau hated Jacob. Jacob is just another name for James. And so when Herod kills James, it's the same old battle of Esau against Jacob, the flesh versus the spirit.

And Herod was the prisoner, not Peter. Oh, Peter had chains on his hands, but that didn't make him a prisoner. Peter was guarded by soldiers.

That didn't make him a prisoner. They can chain the body and guard the body. They cannot chain the spirit.

And the Apostle Peter had put his faith in Jesus Christ. And if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. I would rather be the Apostle Peter in prison facing death than be Herod on the throne facing death.

Later on in this chapter, we find that Herod does die. Herod reigned about three years, and then he died, and he died after he had been in a great display of glory. He sat upon his throne.

Read it there in verses 20 through 23. He sat upon his throne and gave a great oration. And that crowd of people that loved to please the king said, it's the voice of a God.

It's not the voice of a man. And pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. And Herod was smitten, and Herod died.

But Peter was set free to serve the Lord. Are you a prisoner today, or are you set free? As Peter went to bed that night, he simply said to himself, nothing to be afraid of. Come life or death, God is on the throne.

And today, no matter what your problem may be, no matter what your burden may be, God is on the throne. He had a second certainty on which to pillow his head that night. As he snuggled down to go to sleep, Peter said, God keeps his promises.

You see, Peter's life was controlled by the word of God. From that very first day when Andrew brought Simon to Jesus, Peter's life was controlled by the word of God. Our Lord looked at him and said, I know you.

You are Simon. You shall be called Peter, a rock. Simon, if you follow me and obey my word, I'll make a rock out of you.

And he did. Oh, there were many ups and downs. There were many problems.

But ultimately, there came out from the hands of the Lord Jesus, Simon Peter, the rock. Peter lived by the word of God. Now when Peter went to bed that night, he had a promise that he was resting on that no one could take from him.

You Bible students know what that promise was. Back in John 21, when Peter had been restored to his discipleship, the Lord Jesus said to him in verse 18, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Peter, when thou wast young, thou girdest thyself and walkest where thou wouldest. But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee and carry thee where thou wouldest not.

Now our Lord was talking about the way Peter was going to die. Verse 19, this spoke he signifying by what death he should glorify God. He's saying, Peter, they're going to crucify you.

One of these days when you're old, you're going to stretch forth your hands and they'll crucify you. And so when Peter went to bed that night, I suppose one of the soldiers said to him, Well, you're going to lose your head tomorrow. Peter just smiled and said, Oh, no, I'm not.

I know when I'm going to die, when I'm old. And I know how I'm going to die. I'm going to be crucified.

And James had his head cut off, but Peter's not going to have his head cut off. And he turned over and went to sleep. You know, it's a marvelous thing to pillow your head on the promises of God.

Do you ever do that? Do you ever take the promises of God to bed with you? Now, some of you take your problems and worries with you. And you pray and say, Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for watching over me.

Now give me a good night of rest and care for me. In Jesus' name, amen. And you plop your head on the pillow and instantly the motor begins to turn, right? And you think of all the regrets and all the mistakes and all the worries.

And there's tomorrow and the next day and the next week. And before long, the business problems and the family problems. And we pillow our head on our troubles and we wonder why we wake up with a headache.

Wake up with burdens and difficulties. Peter said, I'm going to go to sleep now. Good night, soldier.

Good night, soldier. God said to me, don't be afraid. It's a marvelous thing to pillow your head on the promises of God.

I wonder if when Peter went to sleep that night, if perhaps he used one of David's prayers back in Psalm 3. You remember when David was being chased by Absalom? And David wasn't sure he'd survive. They could have killed him. In Psalm 3, David prays like this.

And Peter could have prayed like this. Lord, how are they increase that trouble me? Many are they that rise up against me. Many there are who say of my soul, there's no help for him in God.

But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me. My glory and the lifter up of my head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill.

I laid down and slept. I awaked, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about.

Salvation belongeth unto the Lord. Thy blessing is upon thy people. You see, when you live in the word of God and you believe the word of God, then when you're going through difficulty, you can pillow your head on the promises of the word of God.

I was reading something over in Proverbs 3 the other day that reminded me of Peter when he was in prison. In Proverbs 3, beginning at verse 21, My son, let not them depart from thine eyes, meaning God's wisdom. Keep sound wisdom and discretion.

So shall they be life unto thy soul and grace to thy neck. God's word takes care of your neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

God's word takes care of your feet. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid. Yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. It's a marvelous thing to trust the word of God.

And that's what Peter did. All of his spiritual walk, he'd been obeying the word of God. And so when difficulty came, he didn't have to run and find a verse.

He just said, Lord, my life has been controlled by your word. You promised me when I would die and how I would die. I believe you, Lord.

Now I lay me down to sleep. God keeps his promises. Now, Herod didn't keep his promises.

Herod is like all the rest of us, just a man. He said, I promise you Jews that Peter will be dead. He didn't keep his promise.

Herod was the one who was dead. Oh, my friend, lay hold of the promises of God. Not circumstances, not feelings.

Just lay hold of the promises of God. Somebody right now has chained you. You're not free.

Some loved one has got some problem. There's some business difficulty, and you feel yourself chained or imprisoned. Oh, lay hold of the promises of God.

I think I told you about the dear lady in the hospital whom I visited one day, and she'd been having an awful, awful time sleeping. And she said, I don't want them to give me anything to put me to sleep. And she was worrying and fretting.

And I came in to see her one day, and I said, how was the night? She said, I slept last night. I slept so beautifully last night. I said, tell me how it happened.

She said, well, I was lying here tossing and turning, and I said to myself, you know, the Bible says that the Lord never slumbers nor sleeps. And it's so silly for both of us to be awake. And she said, I turned over and went to sleep.

He pillowed his head on the promises of God. God is on the throne. That's for certain.

God keeps his promises. That's for certain. There's a third certainty that comes.

And when I mention this, some eyebrows are going to go up and some elbows may nudge somebody next door. That's all right. Certainty number three, God sends his angels.

And someone says, oh, does the pastor of the Moody Church really believe in angels? I certainly do. One of the joys of going to heaven will be finding out what the angels did for us while we were here on earth. There have been times when were it not for angelic interference and angelic interruption, we would have been killed.

We just don't know about it yet. You see, when a little baby is born into this world, the angels are there. The Lord tells us that the little children have their angels watching over them.

And the way some children carry on, they must have a legion of angels taking care of them. When you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, you're born into the family of God, and God assigns to you angelic helpers. That's beautiful.

When you're born into the family of the King, the King says, now, my children always have servants, and so I'm going to assign some angelic servants. Are they not all ministering spirits sent to do service for them who are the heirs of salvation? When you were saved, God assigned angels to take care of you. Now, don't tempt them.

Don't go racing down the highway so fast that you leave them behind still doing the speed limit. Don't tempt them. It's a marvelous thing to know that when you and I are going through the difficulties of life, God's angels are there to see us through.

The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and keepeth them in all their ways. Remember the story of Elisha? Here they were surrounded by the army of the Syrians. And Elisha said to his servant, Don't be afraid, but look at all the soldiers.

And Elisha said, O Lord, open his eyes. And when God enabled that servant to see, he looked around, and all the mountains were covered with the angelic hosts. They that are with us are far greater than they that are against us.

When Daniel prayed, angels began to move. Satan fought them, but they got the victory. When our Lord was tempted, and he won the victory, the angels came and ministered to him.

When Paul was on board that ship, and the storm was so great, the angel of the Lord came to Paul. And Paul stepped up on deck and said, The angel of the Lord, whom I serve, said to me tonight, You know, it's a marvelous thing to know that regardless of what the circumstances may be, God sends his angel. Someday we're going to find out all of the great ministries the angels have performed in our lives.

There are invisible guards. There are invisible soldiers watching over you. I rejoice that a book about angels can be a bestseller.

I rejoice that millions of people went to bookstores and bought copies of books about angels this past year. When you find yourself in prison and chained and wondering what's going to happen next, remember, God is on the throne. God keeps his promises, and God sends his angels.

There's a fourth assurance, a fourth certainty I want you to lay hold of, and it's this. God answers prayer. God answers prayer.

And as Peter closed his eyes that night, he said, Thank God for the church. Thank God for those people back at Mary's house who were praying for me. Now, friends, I know all of the faults of the church, but I thank God for the church.

I thank God for people who pray. I thank God that at an hour in my life when the little dial was about to move over to eternity, hundreds of people were gathered and were praying. I thank God for that.

The next time you're tempted to wash your hands of a local church and say, Well, it's a bunch of hypocrites. They aren't doing it the way I think it ought to be done, just stop and think. Someday you're going to need our prayers.

I thank God for the fellowship of the local church where people pray. When you're going through the battle, when you find yourself in the prison, people pray. They were having a prayer meeting.

This is a good prayer meeting. It says many people were praying. You announce a prayer meeting and the faithful come out.

Announce a banquet. They'll come crawling out of the woodwork, but you announce a prayer meeting. The faithful come out.

There were many people praying. There is power in assembled prayer. There is power in the multitude gathering together and praying.

Oh, when two or three gather, the Lord is there. But oh, when there are dozens and dozens of people laying hold of God, there's power. That's why I always like to see a good number of people in a prayer meeting.

It was united prayer. They were praying together. There was a symphony of prayer.

They had joined together to pray. It was earnest prayer. The word that's used there is the word agonize.

It was agonizing prayer. They meant business with God. They said, oh, Lord, James is dead.

We needed him, but you've called him. And now Peter is there. We need Peter.

If it be your will, oh, God, deliver Peter. Agonizing prayer. It was persistent prayer.

They'd been praying all week and praying all night. It's hard enough to get some people out one half hour in the middle of the week, let alone all week. It's difficult to get people to come out for 45 minutes of prayer, let alone to pray all week and pray all night.

No wonder the early church saw miracles. They knew how to pray. It was persistent prayer.

It was specific prayer. They weren't praying around the world. I read recently about a man who loved to hear himself pray.

And so he got up and began to pray in the meeting. And he was just going all around Robins Hood Barn, telling God everything God already knew and just praying, talking, talking, talking. And finally, some dear saint hollered out, man, ask him for something.

Ever feel like saying that in a prayer meeting? Ask him for something. When they met together to pray, they were praying specifically. The interesting thing is this.

God did not send the answer until the last minute. Could God have delivered Peter a week earlier? Sure. Could God have done it the night before? Yes.

But you see, God was waiting till he got the most glory and the answer did the most good. Just keep on praying. Don't tell God when to answer or how to answer.

Just keep on praying. God's delays are for our own good, and God's never in a hurry. We get so panicky.

God's not in a hurry. The angel shows up, and the light comes into the prison, and the chains fall off, and the angel says, Peter, put your clothes on. And so he did.

He said, Peter, put your shoes on. From that day on, every time Peter put on his shoes, he remembered what God had done for him. And the Lord just waits.

Peter puts his shoes on, and away they go, and the doors open up, and away they go. They go right past the guards. God can do the impossible.

God can do the miraculous. God loves to answer prayer. And so when Peter pillowed his head that night, he simply said to himself, well, I have been praying.

The Church is praying. God answers prayer. And so I would have us to lay hold of these certainties today.

At the close of an old year and at the onset of a new year, people are troubled and burdened. Your house may be a prison. There may be sickness there that keeps people in bondage.

Your office may be a prison. You may find yourself in chains that you didn't forge. And I would say to you what Peter would say to you, what he says to me.

No need to be panicky. No need to be afraid. No need to fall apart.

God is on the throne. That's a certainty. God keeps his promises.

That is a certainty. God sends his angels. You can't always see them, but they're there.

That's a certainty. And God answers prayer. And so our need today is not for God to change our circumstances.

Our need today is for God to increase our faith. And as we pray and trust him and let him have his way, circumstances will be changed. I can't read this chapter without seeing the contrasts that are there.

Herod's throne, weakness. God's throne, power. Herod's soldiers, weakness.

God's soldiers, the angels, power. Herod's men at court praising him. He dies.

God's church meeting together to pray, and power is released from heaven. Herod has the weak weapons of swords and chains, but God's church has the powerful weapons of prayer and faith. And I say to you, as I said at the beginning, I would rather be Peter in a prison, chained with God on my side, than Herod on the throne without God.

And so would you. Pillow your head tonight on these certainties, will you? Walk into life and realize God's going to take care of the chains. God's going to open the doors.

God's going to protect, and God's going to provide. There's no need to be afraid or upset or worried, because God is on the throne, and God keeps his promises, and God sends his angels, and God answers prayer. Now would you who are believers permit me to take an extra moment to talk to some here who have never been saved? Would you like for your chains to fall off? Would you like for the light to dawn in your dungeon? Would you like for the doors to open up and you walk out free? There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.

That beautiful verse in And Can It Be That I Should Gain is based on Acts chapter 12. My chains fell off. Oh, what a marvelous thing.

If I speak right now to some dear unsaved friend, you've come into this service and you've never been born again, why don't you come and give your heart to Christ? He died for you. The chains will fall off. You'll be set free from the prison house of sin and condemnation, and you'll walk forth a child of God.

That can be your blessing today if you'll come and trust him. Gracious Father, there is no prison built too strong for your hand. No door can keep your angels out.

No chains can keep your servants bound. How marvelous it is that in your will there is deliverance and liberty and blessing. Now I pray for your children who have burdens and problems, that you'll encourage them with these certainties today.

And for those without the Savior, I pray, oh, that they would come to trust him. Lord, work in our hearts now and grant to us that we will do what we ought to do with what we have heard. For Jesus' sake, amen.