(Breath of Life Theme Music) 00:00:01.26\00:00:06.70 Sermon #B632 - From Detained to Delivered 00:00:06.74\00:00:20.05 The word of God says in Acts 12:1, "Now about that time, 00:00:20.08\00:00:25.09 Herod the King, stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the 00:00:25.12\00:00:31.93 church. And he killed James, the brother of John with the sword 00:00:31.96\00:00:34.30 and because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. 00:00:34.36\00:00:39.47 (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him 00:00:39.50\00:00:44.34 in prison, and delivered him to four quarternions of soldiers to 00:00:44.37\00:00:48.14 keep him, intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Peter therefore, was 00:00:48.18\00:00:55.15 kept in prison. But prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. 00:00:55.18\00:00:58.02 And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same 00:00:58.05\00:01:00.76 night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with 00:01:00.79\00:01:04.99 two chains and the keepers before the door kept the prison. 00:01:05.03\00:01:06.63 And behold, the angel of the Lord came upon them. And a light shined in the prison, 00:01:06.66\00:01:12.53 and he smote Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise up quickly.” 00:01:12.57\00:01:16.74 And his chains fell off from his hands. The angel said unto him, “Gird thyself, bind on thy 00:01:16.77\00:01:22.74 sandals.” And so he did. And he said that he have, “Cast thy garment about thee, and follow 00:01:22.78\00:01:27.45 me.” And he went out and followed him and wist not that it was true which was done by 00:01:27.48\00:01:31.99 the angel. But he thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and the second ward, 00:01:32.02\00:01:36.19 they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city, which opened to them of his own 00:01:36.22\00:01:40.76 accord and they went out, and passed on through one street and forthwith the angel departed 00:01:40.80\00:01:44.73 from him. And when Peter was come to himself, he said, “Now, I know of a surety, 00:01:44.77\00:01:51.61 that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, 00:01:51.64\00:01:56.21 and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. 00:01:56.24\00:01:58.18 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of 00:01:58.21\00:02:02.22 Mary, the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered praying. 00:02:02.25\00:02:06.29 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, 00:02:06.32\00:02:08.32 a damsel came to hearken, by the name of Rhoda.” Everybody say Rhoda. [Congregation: Rhoda.] 00:02:08.36\00:02:12.69 “And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate 00:02:12.73\00:02:16.56 for gladness, but ran in, and told Peter-- how Peter stood 00:02:16.60\00:02:19.77 before the gate. And they said unto her, “Thou art mad.” But she constantly affirmed that it 00:02:19.80\00:02:25.11 was even so. Then said they, “It is his angel.” But Peter continued knocking, 00:02:25.14\00:02:29.84 and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were 00:02:29.88\00:02:31.78 astonished. But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold 00:02:31.81\00:02:35.08 their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out 00:02:35.12\00:02:37.39 of the prison. And he said, “Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren.” 00:02:37.42\00:02:40.96 And he departed, and went into another place. 00:02:40.99\00:02:45.73 Just wanted to talk to you a couple of minutes on the subject, “From Detained to 00:02:45.76\00:02:52.37 Delivered.” God bless us now. We want to be free. Forgive us all 00:02:52.40\00:02:57.91 of our sins and may this word go forth today. And we give your permission, Holy Spirit, 00:02:57.94\00:03:02.84 permission to move in copious fashion, in Jesus name. Amen. [Congregation: Amen.] 00:03:02.88\00:03:09.48 From Detained to Delivered. All month long, we've been talking about what it means to be free. 00:03:09.52\00:03:14.96 From the Israelites, Exodus, out of Egypt to Jesus telling us that there is freedom in Him to 00:03:14.99\00:03:20.63 Paul and Silas being set free from the Philippian jail. 00:03:20.66\00:03:24.23 The Bible is full of stories that remind us that we serve a 00:03:24.27\00:03:29.44 God, who's in the business of setting people free. Everybody say free. [Congregation: Free.] 00:03:29.47\00:03:34.04 But out of all the freedom stories in the Bible, today's story is my favorite. 00:03:34.08\00:03:41.05 Acts 12 says that Peter is surrounded by four sets of 00:03:41.08\00:03:46.62 soldiers. Sixteen soldiers to be exact chain to him and there's no way out but God still sets 00:03:46.65\00:03:55.00 him free. And I believe I've got a witness in this place today 00:03:55.03\00:03:58.57 that knows. That we serve a chain breaking gods. That we serve a jail breaking God. 00:03:58.60\00:04:05.24 That we serve a prison breaking God and that there is no devil in hell, no devil on earth 00:04:05.27\00:04:12.28 or anywhere else that can stop God when God sets you free 00:04:12.31\00:04:17.39 because God says, “When the sun sets you free, you shall be free 00:04:17.42\00:04:22.89 indeed.” Now for a little background, the Book of Acts teaches that the early 00:04:22.92\00:04:26.49 New Testament church was witnessing God moving in a mighty way. That God was showing 00:04:26.53\00:04:32.60 up and God was showing out. The Bible says, the church was 00:04:32.63\00:04:36.97 growing and then the influence of the church was spreading. Acts 2 says, 3,000 were saved in 00:04:37.01\00:04:43.58 one day. Acts 4 says, 5,000 were saved in one day. The Bible says, “People were being saved 00:04:43.61\00:04:50.85 every day.” God was working and His presence and power was felt by saint and sinner alike. 00:04:50.89\00:04:57.16 God was glorified. The people were edified. The devil was 00:04:57.19\00:05:00.80 horrified. It was a great time to be a part of God's church. But you know how it is. 00:05:00.83\00:05:05.83 When everything is going well, everybody is not pleased. 00:05:05.87\00:05:09.97 Whatever God is doing something in your life, somebody is not 00:05:10.01\00:05:15.04 happy. I say it all the time. I've learned that the greatest moments in my life often 00:05:15.08\00:05:19.18 produce the greatest moments of envy and jealousy in somebody 00:05:19.21\00:05:23.72 else's life. The Jews hated the early church because the church said, “Jesus was the Messiah.” 00:05:23.75\00:05:29.16 The church said, “Jesus had been killed by the Jews,” and more 00:05:29.19\00:05:33.09 than that, the church said, “Jesus was risen from the dead.” So, the Jews hated the message 00:05:33.13\00:05:38.37 of the gospel. And with many Jews leaving Judaism to follow Jesus, the enemies of God got to 00:05:38.40\00:05:44.61 working. Let that be a lesson for us today. Don't feel bad when you are attacked 00:05:44.64\00:05:49.34 by Satan because if you're not a threat to Satan, then you and Satan must be running in the 00:05:49.38\00:05:56.28 same direction. Whenever God is doing something in your life it makes the devil mad. 00:05:56.32\00:06:00.89 But I believe I've got some witnesses in this place that 00:06:00.92\00:06:04.49 know that God can deliver us from the hand of the enemy. Somebody I believe knows 00:06:04.53\00:06:09.03 that no weapon formed against you is going to prosper, that if God before us, who can be 00:06:09.06\00:06:16.17 against us? Acts 4 teaches that the Jewish leaders tried to arrest the apostles 00:06:16.20\00:06:20.18 and stop them from preaching the gospel, but that didn't work. So, then they stoned Stephen. 00:06:20.21\00:06:25.45 They killed him in order to stop him from preaching the gospel. 00:06:25.48\00:06:29.08 And that didn't work. They got to Paul Saul and he was persecuting the Saints 00:06:29.12\00:06:34.16 but that didn't work either because Paul, Saul became Paul, 00:06:34.19\00:06:38.33 got converted and the church grew even more. That's our next lesson. The work of God can't be 00:06:38.36\00:06:44.00 stopped. The gospel will be preached. Souls will be saved with or without you. 00:06:44.03\00:06:50.27 People tell me all the time. They've heard me say it. 00:06:50.31\00:06:52.71 They say, “Well, the charge won't make it without me. It will die without me. 00:06:52.74\00:06:58.65 Well, the cemetery is full of folk that thought the church would die without them.” 00:06:58.68\00:07:02.98 This is God's church, His troop marches on. We have nothing to fear for the future, 00:07:03.02\00:07:08.09 lest we forget how God has led us in the past. 00:07:08.12\00:07:11.79 In the text, there is an arrogant king named Herod. There's a martyr named James, 00:07:11.83\00:07:18.10 a prisoner named Peter, a praying Holy Ghost fill the church and a little servant girl 00:07:18.13\00:07:24.07 named Rhoda. Let me tell you first about Herod. This Herod in Acts 12 was Herod Agrippa. 00:07:24.11\00:07:29.54 Everybody say Agrippa. [Congregation: Agrippa.] 00:07:29.58\00:07:31.28 Come on. Say it like you mean it. Say Agrippa. [Congregation: 00:07:31.31\00:07:33.58 Agrippa.] All right. This Herod was the evil grandson of Herod 00:07:33.62\00:07:39.25 the Great. Herod the Great was the Herod who said that all Bethlehem children at Jesus' 00:07:39.29\00:07:47.30 birth had to be murdered. Herod Agrippa was not only the grandson of Herod the Great, 00:07:47.30\00:07:51.30 but Herod Agrippa was the nephew of Herod Antipas. Herod Antipas was the one who had John the 00:07:51.33\00:07:59.64 Baptist beheaded. Then it was Herod Agrippa's father, Herod Aristobulus, who was Herod 00:07:59.67\00:08:06.01 Anticipa's brother, who was executed by his father, which was Herod Agrippa's grandfather, 00:08:06.05\00:08:11.29 Herod the Great. He executed him because he was afraid that his son, Herod Agrippa's father, 00:08:11.32\00:08:19.06 might usurp his throne. So, scheming and murders were a part of this family's DNA. 00:08:19.09\00:08:26.27 So, this Herod Agrippa persecuted the early church to 00:08:26.30\00:08:32.24 convince the Jewish people of his loyalty to the traditions of his fathers. Herod Agrippa. 00:08:32.27\00:08:38.61 Herod in Acts 12, skilled politician. Not at all concerned 00:08:38.65\00:08:45.15 with principle and willing to do whatever he had to do to maintain his comfortable hold on 00:08:45.19\00:08:49.62 power, seeking to keep the favor of the Jews, arrested James, the 00:08:49.66\00:08:55.20 brother of John, had him beheaded and when he saw it pleased the Jews, he arrested 00:08:55.23\00:09:01.70 Peter and plan to kill him too. To Herod, Christianity was seen as some form, some fad. 00:09:01.74\00:09:04.57 He imprisons Peter in a maximum security prison with the idea that after Passover, 00:09:04.61\00:09:08.94 after a bogus court, Herod will stage a trial 00:09:08.98\00:09:11.88 and execute Peter as a warning to other folk who might follow 00:09:11.91\00:09:15.92 Jesus. So what does he do? You know the story. He assigns 16 00:09:15.95\00:09:19.52 soldiers, four sets of soldiers to make sure that his plan is not obstructed by some 00:09:19.55\00:09:24.36 Christians who are on the inside. Why would he do this? Why would he have 16 soldiers to 00:09:24.39\00:09:32.73 one man? Ellen White makes it clear in Acts of the Apostles, that Herod did this 00:09:32.77\00:09:36.37 because Herod had remembered the State of the Apostles from 00:09:36.40\00:09:40.41 prison early on. So, he wanted to on this occasion to take double precaution. So, my 00:09:40.44\00:09:45.68 question again to us, why is it my friends, that people, other folks know the power of God 00:09:45.71\00:09:50.49 and the people of God don't know his power? Ellen White says, in 00:09:50.52\00:09:54.59 his cell, Peter was placed between two soldiers bound by 00:09:54.62\00:09:58.33 two chains. Each chain was fastened to the wrists of the one of the other soldiers. 00:09:58.36\00:10:01.36 So Peter then was supposedly to be unable to move without their 00:10:01.40\00:10:06.13 knowledge, with prison doors locked securely, a prisoner, prison guard at the front of the 00:10:06.17\00:10:12.31 prison, all chance of human escape was supposed to be cut 00:10:12.34\00:10:17.68 off. But I believe I got a witness that knows with God, all things are possible. 00:10:17.71\00:10:25.29 That with God, man's extremity is God's opportunity. 00:10:25.32\00:10:30.89 That with God our set backs are just set ups for comebacks. Herod knew who he was up 00:10:30.93\00:10:40.30 against. Herod knew he was not up against Peter. But Harold knew he was up against the 00:10:40.34\00:10:46.27 Almighty God. I wish I had a church in his place. Now, the Bible says in verse number one, 00:10:46.31\00:10:50.75 that Herod was after certain folk in the church. That he came to vex certain people in the 00:10:50.78\00:10:58.65 church. It's important for us to understand that the devil is not after everybody in the church. 00:10:58.69\00:11:04.29 The devil is only after certain people in the church. 00:11:04.33\00:11:08.00 The devil is after people who are filled with the Holy Ghost. 00:11:08.03\00:11:11.67 When you got the Holy Ghost, you are a problem for the devil. Herod arrest Peter, throws him 00:11:11.70\00:11:19.11 in prison and he would have killed him. But the Bible says it was too close to Easter, a 00:11:19.14\00:11:25.15 religious holiday. So, Herod delays the trial and execution of Peter until after Easter. 00:11:25.18\00:11:34.19 Herod was religious. And what you will discover is some of your worst enemies are religious 00:11:34.22\00:11:39.09 people. They have a form of godliness. But they deny the 00:11:39.13\00:11:44.53 power thereof. Can I just park my kickstand here? I know my time is against me. 00:11:44.57\00:11:47.20 But I just stay in just for a minute. Whether you say yes or no, I got the mic. I'm going to 00:11:47.24\00:11:51.47 do it anyhow. Come on, say amen. [Congregation: Amen.] 00:11:51.51\00:11:53.27 Some of your worst enemies are religious people, who have no relationship with Jesus. 00:11:53.31\00:12:00.38 Folk that sit up quoting scripture. Folk that can study the Sabbath school, the lesson. 00:12:00.42\00:12:06.29 Folk that know the Bible from cover to cover. 00:12:06.32\00:12:09.76 But everybody that comes to church is not on the Lord's 00:12:09.79\00:12:13.60 side. Everybody talking about Jesus ain't serving Jesus. 00:12:13.63\00:12:17.37 Everybody talking about heaven and God, is not always the people on the outside, 00:12:17.40\00:12:21.34 but sometimes it's the phony faith, pretentious angels on the inside that are the 00:12:21.37\00:12:25.74 problem because the devil goes to church, too. I wish I had a witness to this place. 00:12:25.77\00:12:30.35 Now, if we get to verse number five, look at it quickly. I've 00:12:30.38\00:12:34.48 got to move quick. When you get to verse number five, the Bible says, that Peter is taken 00:12:34.52\00:12:39.05 captive. Everybody say captive. [Congregation: Captive.] 00:12:39.09\00:12:40.82 Peter, the Bible says, was therefore kept in prison, but prayer. Peter is put in prison, 00:12:40.86\00:12:54.77 but prayer. Peter is thrown into jail, but prayer. Somebody is going to get this in minutes. 00:12:54.80\00:13:04.01 It's that little conjunction but, the situation looks 00:13:04.05\00:13:10.79 desperate. But, it looks as if Peter might be put to death. But, it looks as if you might 00:13:10.82\00:13:18.73 lose the fight with cancer. But, it looks as if you might lose your marriage. But, it looks as 00:13:18.76\00:13:25.13 if you might lose your children. But, it looks as if you might lose your mind. But I found the 00:13:25.17\00:13:34.24 answer. I've learned how to pray. Peter is in prison. But the church is at Mary's house, 00:13:34.28\00:13:40.32 praying. I believe if there were ever a time we needed to pray, do I have a witness that is 00:13:40.35\00:13:46.55 right now? If we ever needed some folk who wanted to pray is right now. Listen, gun control 00:13:46.59\00:13:53.09 is out of control. Race relations are worse now than they've ever been. We've got 00:13:53.13\00:13:59.77 alleged Russian collusion in our government. We've got the daily threat of a government shutdown 00:13:59.80\00:14:03.77 over a border wall. The daily threat of a declared national emergency. We've got the Me Too 00:14:03.81\00:14:09.98 Movement. We've got actors allegedly lying over getting assaulted. [Congregation: Mercy 00:14:10.01\00:14:16.55 !]. Alleged pedophiles finally being brought to justice. We've got a billionaire sports owner, 00:14:16.58\00:14:24.69 allegedly caught up in a prostitution ring. It's praying time. Little prayer is little 00:14:24.73\00:14:33.80 power. Some prayer is some power. But much prayer is much power. I don't know about you, 00:14:33.84\00:14:40.98 but we need some power. The church is praying for Peter's escape, not to Herod 00:14:41.01\00:14:47.08 but to God. They didn't picket the government. They didn't protest outside the White House. 00:14:47.12\00:14:53.02 They didn't sign a petition. They didn't appeal to the Supreme Court. They didn't call 00:14:53.05\00:15:00.63 a riot. They didn't call an elders' meeting. They didn't call a church board meeting. 00:15:00.66\00:15:06.20 They didn't call a church business meeting. But the Bible says, they called a prayer 00:15:06.23\00:15:13.58 meeting because some things only come by prayer and fasting. 00:15:13.61\00:15:17.85 The effects to a fervent prayer of a righteous man, availeth 00:15:17.88\00:15:22.12 much. Jesus said, "Ask and it shall be given. Seek and he 00:15:22.15\00:15:26.55 shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened up to you." This is the confidence that we have 00:15:26.59\00:15:32.56 in approaching God, that whatever we ask, we know we 00:15:32.59\00:15:36.43 have. Prayer for Peter was the specific prayer for a specific need. I dare somebody to get 00:15:36.46\00:15:47.38 specific with God. Go in your secret closets. Go in your bathroom and write your prayer 00:15:47.41\00:15:52.78 request down. And then, I dare you to go back two, three, four months later and see how God has 00:15:52.81\00:15:58.92 answered your prayer. And if God is able to do it back then, you know God is able to do it up 00:15:58.95\00:16:03.26 here. They all praying for Peter's release. The old folks used to say, "You got to push. 00:16:03.29\00:16:07.93 You got to pray until something happens. You've got to pray for 00:16:07.96\00:16:13.17 a miracle." The reason why many people don't pray like that, the problem is not that God doesn't 00:16:13.20\00:16:20.41 do miracles. The problem is that people aren't praying, expecting God to perform miracles anymore. 00:16:20.44\00:16:25.35 But I'm looking for a miracle. I expect the impossible. I feel 00:16:25.38\00:16:32.29 the intent. I see the invisible sky is the limit to what I can 00:16:32.32\00:16:36.89 have. I'm a king's kid. I'm a child of the most high God. 00:16:36.93\00:16:41.86 Verse six says, "And when Herod would have brought him for us, 00:16:41.90\00:16:47.80 the same night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains and the 00:16:47.84\00:16:54.08 keepers of the door kept the prison." Now, this is the part of the story I like. I'm a shout 00:16:54.11\00:16:57.21 a little bit. Then we all go home. All right. This is what I like. Get this. Peter's in jail. 00:16:57.25\00:17:04.95 Peter's on death row. Peter is going die tomorrow. Soldiers on 00:17:04.99\00:17:13.60 both sides of him. Soldiers are in front of him. Soldiers are chained to him. Soldiers are at 00:17:13.63\00:17:21.44 the door. He's going to die tomorrow. But the Bible says, Peter is asleep. Somebody's 00:17:21.47\00:17:29.44 going to get it in a minute. No tossing, no turning. No counting sheep. No riding his last will 00:17:29.48\00:17:37.19 and testament. Oh, no screaming. No crying. No begging for mercy. That night before his execution, 00:17:37.22\00:17:47.10 Peter is asleep. Somebody said on average. Peter is about to die. But Peter goes to sleep. 00:17:47.13\00:17:55.97 Peter is not panicking. He's not saying, "Oh, my goodness, what am I going to do? In the 00:17:56.00\00:18:00.41 morning, I'm going to die." Peter [snores] sleep. [Congregat 00:18:00.44\00:18:05.28 ion: applause] What can we learn from Brother Peter? If your faith is awake, then you can go 00:18:05.31\00:18:12.09 to sleep. Hallelujah. Somebody. That's peace, my friends. Peace is not the absence of tension. 00:18:12.12\00:18:18.49 Peace is security in the midst of tension. Which means it doesn't make a difference what 00:18:18.53\00:18:24.17 it looks like. It doesn't make a difference what it looks like in 00:18:24.20\00:18:26.77 the morning. It doesn't make a difference what the doctor says, 00:18:26.80\00:18:31.61 “I'm born sleep.” God told me, tell somebody to stop worrying about that thing. Go to sleep. 00:18:31.64\00:18:35.88 Stop worrying about how the bill is going to be paid. Go to 00:18:35.91\00:18:39.61 sleep. Stop worrying about how you are going to pay that tuition. Go to sleep. 00:18:39.65\00:18:43.32 Stop worrying about how you're going to pass that class. Go to 00:18:43.35\00:18:47.42 sleep. Stop worrying about your medical bills. Go to sleep. Stop worrying about what folks say 00:18:47.46\00:18:53.26 about you. They don't have a heaven or hell for you. Go to sleep. [Congregation: applause] 00:18:53.29\00:18:58.03 So, we get back to verse number seven. 00:18:58.07\00:19:00.44 The Bible says, “And the angel-- the word, everybody. [Congregation: Angel.] 00:19:00.47\00:19:03.54 Pastor Byrd: Come on, the word everybody. [Congregation: 00:19:03.57\00:19:05.41 Angel.] I'm almost done. "Came upon him and a light shined in the prison. He smote Peter on 00:19:05.44\00:19:10.41 the side and he rose him up and said, “Get up quickly.” The Bible says, "His chains fell off 00:19:10.45\00:19:18.35 his hands." Verse number eight. "And the angel said, “Gird thyself, bind thy sandals.” 00:19:18.39\00:19:22.56 And so he did and he said unto them, “Cast thy garments about thee and follow me.” 00:19:22.59\00:19:28.83 Now, quickly, why would the angel tell Peter to put on his 00:19:28.86\00:19:34.20 clothes? It's only natural that when you go to sleep, you take some operative words, so, of 00:19:34.24\00:19:41.41 your clothes off. Do I have a witness in this place? But now the angel speaks to him and 00:19:41.44\00:19:45.51 says, "Wake up. Get up. Get dressed. Get ready. You get ready to go somewhere." 00:19:45.55\00:19:55.02 Now, you need to understand that gates and guards, understand, kept all of his friends from 00:19:55.06\00:20:00.96 him. But gates and guards couldn't keep God's angels from 00:20:00.96\00:20:05.53 him. But to Peter, he says, "This doesn't make sense." He's saying, “Put your clothes on, 00:20:05.57\00:20:10.14 put your shoes on. What do you mean? I'm in jail. But sometimes when you're following the Lord, 00:20:10.17\00:20:15.11 your ways are not His ways. Your thoughts are not His thoughts.” So, even if it doesn't make 00:20:15.14\00:20:18.35 sense, if God says, "Go, guess what you got to do. Go." Peter's in jail. Soldiers are on both 00:20:18.38\00:20:24.89 sides of him. Soldiers at the door. There's another door, outside the door, another 00:20:24.92\00:20:28.36 soldier at that door. And soldiers are by those doors, an escape doesn't make sense. 00:20:28.39\00:20:33.23 But I've learned in my life, God will never take you to it, unless He's glad enough to bring 00:20:33.26\00:20:38.07 you through it. That's why even if it doesn't make sense, go. So verse nine, "He went out and 00:20:38.10\00:20:42.17 followed him and wist not that it was true which was done by 00:20:42.20\00:20:44.47 the angel. But he thought he saw a vision." Everybody say vision. [Congregation: Vision.] 00:20:44.51\00:20:47.71 Pastor Byrd: Verse ten. "When they were past the first and the 00:20:47.74\00:20:50.28 second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth to the 00:20:50.31\00:20:52.21 city." The Bible says, "Which opened to them of his own 00:20:52.25\00:20:56.08 accord." That should've made somebody shout right there. 00:20:56.12\00:20:58.15 We shout at the wrong time. Understand, do you see in your mind's eye, what's going on 00:20:58.19\00:21:03.19 here. Peter didn't have to even push the gate of the door open. The door opened up by itself. 00:21:03.22\00:21:08.23 God all hear what I'm saying. He passed through one street 00:21:08.26\00:21:11.67 and the Bible says, "Then the angel forthwith departed from 00:21:11.70\00:21:15.67 him." In other words, he'd not only gone to prison, but he got off the prison property 00:21:15.70\00:21:19.61 and passed the prison guards right on by. 00:21:19.64\00:21:22.34 And I'm going to close-- but it is a fact, that when God delivers you and you know beyond 00:21:22.38\00:21:28.98 a shadow of a doubt it was God, you can't keep it to yourself. Do I have a witness that knows 00:21:29.02\00:21:36.62 when God does something for you, I know you wonder why some of us stomp our feet and clap our 00:21:36.66\00:21:40.86 hands and wave our hands. But when God does something for you, you can't just keep it to 00:21:40.90\00:21:50.27 yourself. But you got to tell somebody. I don't know Senator Jones, but maybe when you won 00:21:50.31\00:21:55.38 that election night, God had done something for you. You just couldn't keep it to yourself. 00:21:55.41\00:22:02.15 But you had to tell somebody. The Bible says in verse eleven, that when Peter was come to 00:22:02.18\00:22:07.92 himself. He said, "Now, I know of a surety, that the Lord has sent His angel, deliver me out 00:22:07.96\00:22:13.13 of the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews." Verse 00:22:13.16\00:22:20.64 number twelve. "And when he had considered the thing, he realized I can't keep this to 00:22:20.67\00:22:27.61 myself. So, he goes and he comes about to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose surname 00:22:27.64\00:22:32.38 was Mark." Because there were many folk, the Bible says, that what that house praying. Are you 00:22:32.41\00:22:39.29 all hearing what I'm saying? Never underestimate the power of a praying church. God is 00:22:39.32\00:22:45.83 sovereign and God can do what He wants, when He wants, where He wants. And He doesn't have to 00:22:45.86\00:22:48.20 ask us for permission to do as He wants. But sometimes He chooses to work through the 00:22:48.23\00:22:58.64 prayers of His people. Congregation: Yes. Now, Peter could have gone in hiding 00:22:58.67\00:23:06.58 because most people when they escaped from prison, El Chapo. [Congregation: laughter] They 00:23:06.61\00:23:17.23 dig tunnels. They had motorcycles waiting for them. They go on the run, go to 00:23:17.26\00:23:30.87 another city, state or country to avoid being caught again. But not Peter. Peter said, “The 00:23:30.91\00:23:42.02 Lord's been mighty good to me. I've got to tell somebody.” So, Peter goes to the house of Mary. 00:23:42.05\00:23:52.99 And Verse 13 says, “He starts knocking.” Now, when you knock on a door, it means I'm here. He 00:23:53.03\00:24:04.34 says, “I know you're praying. I know you're praying that God will deliver me from the hand of 00:24:04.37\00:24:14.48 Herod. But I'm here.” Now, when Rhoda, the servant girl in verse 13 comes to the door. She hears 00:24:14.52\00:24:21.99 his voice. She knows it's Peter. So, what Rhoda does is she runs back to the church folk and 00:24:22.02\00:24:28.23 tells the church folk, what you're praying for is already at the door. You all hear what I'm 00:24:28.26\00:24:31.60 saying? Sooner than right now, faster then immediately, the Lord answers prayer. The Bible 00:24:31.63\00:24:34.67 says, that the folk thought Rhoda was crazy. Just like some of you all think I'm crazy, when 00:24:34.70\00:24:40.44 I'm jumping up and down. And they thought she was crazy. The Bible says they thought she was 00:24:40.48\00:24:43.38 mad. They told her it was an angel because the common Jewish belief of the day, was that a 00:24:43.41\00:24:55.32 guardian angel was assigned to each person and assumed the appearance of those whom they 00:24:55.36\00:24:59.49 protected and they appeared and served as their double. You're seeing things. You're hearing 00:24:59.53\00:25:03.77 things. I know this Pastor. Now, the formally faithful are now faithless. That's why you can't 00:25:03.80\00:25:14.08 put your trust in people. The same folk that shout, Hosanna, at the beginning of the week are 00:25:14.11\00:25:25.12 the same people that will shout, crucify him, at the end of the week. You all hear what I'm 00:25:25.15\00:25:31.39 saying? But Rhoda knows it's Peter. She didn't argue with him. She didn't open the door. 00:25:31.43\00:25:44.77 But Peter keeps on knocking. "I'm here." They finally opened the door. Peter says, "I came to 00:25:44.81\00:25:55.78 let you know that I'm here. There's been a prison break. I was detained. But now I've been 00:25:55.82\00:26:08.86 delivered. I didn't have to kill anybody. I didn't have to fight anybody because if I hold my 00:26:08.90\00:26:14.70 peace and the Lord fights my battles, victory shall be mine. The Lord is my life and my 00:26:14.74\00:26:21.48 salvation. Who shall I fear? God saved me. God rescued me. God delivered me. God's been better 00:26:21.51\00:26:27.75 to me than I've been to myself. And the reason I keep knocking is because if it had not been 00:26:27.78\00:26:39.76 for the Lord on my side, where would I be." As we close this month of freedom, I came to tell 00:26:39.79\00:26:45.13 somebody what Jesus has done for me. If the sun sets you free, you shall be free indeed. Jesus 00:26:45.17\00:26:53.61 picked me up, turned me around, placed my feet on solid ground. So, don't look at me funny when 00:26:53.64\00:27:01.22 I raise my hands. Don't look at me funny when I stomp my feet. Don't look at me funny when I 00:27:01.25\00:27:15.23 shout, glory. You don't know like I know what he's done for me. Excuse me, if I get loud. 00:27:15.26\00:27:20.87 Excuse me, if I stomped my feet. But Jesus, Jesus, Jesus has made me smile and this joy that I 00:27:20.90\00:27:25.31 have, the world didn't give it. And the world can't take it away. Give God some praise right 00:27:25.34\00:27:28.18 now. Give Him praise. Somebody wants freedom. [Congregation: applause] You want freedom 00:27:28.21\00:27:32.41 today. Thank you very much for tuning in to this week's Breath of Life broadcast. We hope and 00:27:32.45\00:27:37.05 pray that you've been blessed by Dr. Byrd's inspirational message. If you would like to 00:27:37.09\00:27:39.59 hear this sermon in its entirety, please feel free to visit us at www.breathoflife.tv. 00:27:39.62\00:27:45.39 Or, call us at (256) 929-6460. 00:27:45.43\00:27:52.60 [END] 00:27:52.63\00:27:56.64 Breath of Life is on the road again! 00:27:56.67\00:27:59.07 Join us on March 6-9at the Andrews Memorial Church in 00:27:59.11\00:28:06.11 Kingston Jamaica for a special weekend revival with Dr. Carlton 00:28:06.15\00:28:10.65 P. Byrd. You don't to miss this event! 00:28:10.69\00:28:13.59 For more information about this upcoming revival, 00:28:13.62\00:28:15.06 please visit us online at www.breathoflife.tv 00:28:15.09\00:28:21.06 or give us a call at 256.929.6460 00:28:21.10\00:28:28.17 Huntsville, the 2019 Breath of Life Spring Revival begins on 00:28:28.20\00:28:35.41 March 16. It's Fake News vs. Good News! Whose news will you 00:28:35.44\00:28:41.65 believe? Come hear Dr. Byrd give God's solution to the lies of 00:28:41.68\00:28:47.52 the enemy! For more information about this upcoming revival, 00:28:47.56\00:28:50.86 please visit us online at www.breathoflife.tv 00:28:50.89\00:28:56.87 or give us a call at 256.929.6460 00:28:56.90\00:29:11.98