Acts 12:11 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.
Oh Friends, on this rainy June morn, I’m sure many, if not all of us, can use an angel to help us out of some dire circumstance in which we’re entangled. Unfortunately though, only a few will be granted that heavenly blessing, hope I’m one of them, (smile) but the rest will just have to muddle through as best we can, for it’s not every case that we think calls for heavenly help that meets the Father’s requirements. But what are angels, you ask? Hear Bruh Paul: ‘Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?’ (Heb.1:14) Yes my Friends, angels are the Lord’s helpers in the spirit world. They go around doing His bidding, re those of us who believe on His Son, Jesus, and come to him in faith; ‘the heirs of salvation.’ And for the lucky faithful who receive angelic help today, I implore us to go out and make it a powerful, revealing testimonial to our omnipotent God, just like Peter did when imprisoned by Herod. Before I get caught up in Peter’s story though, like I did with Daniel and his buddies yesterday, let’s just mention a couple other instances of angels doing yeoman service. ‘And when we cried unto the Lord, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and behold we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost part of thy border. (Num. 20:16) That’s Moses asking the people of Edom for permission to pass through their territory on the way to the Promised Land, which they refused, instead bringing out a large, strong force to intercept them. And would you believe they were family? Edom was Israel’s brother, (Deut.23:7) descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother. Then we have Bruh Paul. Hn! He must have had angels constantly around him, for the amount of trouble he got into. As he wrote to Timothy, in his trials, nobody stood by him, ‘but all men forsook me…Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’ (2Tim.4:16-18) Not that nobody cared for him, but in his last days in prison in Rome, after all he’d been through, he was convinced that only the Lord could have made it possible, and right to the very end he believed that a place was being prepared for him in heaven. Say what yuh want about Bruh Paul, mih Friends, he had one thing in great abundance, that too many of us lack; real, earth moving, mind bending faith. Oh if there was only some way to bottle it and spread it around! But sadly, faith only comes through trials, and great faith, through great trials. So much so that when Peter was sprung from jail that night, he had to shake himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. It was so easy. After killing James, John’s brother, Herod saw that it pleased the Jews, so he locked up Peter during the Passover, planning to bring him out after the feast and make him the second martyr. Security was so tight in the jail that Peter had four squads of four soldiers guarding him. ‘Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.’ (Acts 12:5) And Friends, as I keep saying, our God is the master of timing, Why? Cause the very night before Herod planned to bring out Peter and martyr him, our God staged a daring prison break. ‘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 a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. 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.’ (Acts 12:6-8) Peter did as he was told, all the time though thinking it was a dream. They walked past two guard posts, which the scholars claim the guards themselves unwittingly opened, then miracle of miracles; ‘they came unto the iron gate that 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.’ (Acts 12:10-11) Ah mih people, chalk up another miracle to the Lord, and also to the power of faith and prayer! The main gate just opened automatically. And I like the angel’s business-like manner. Once he was sure Peter was safe, he took off. Yes mih Friends, there are angels out there who minister to us, who do God’s bidding in our lives, but once they’re done, they move on to look after others, then we have to take responsibility and give serious thanks, praise and soulful testimony to the Most High for bailing us out of whatever trouble we were in. It takes a lot of faith to surrender our lives to Him completely; faith that’s hard earned. But if we truly desire to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, remember, we must be prepared to suffer some in His Name. We’ll continue this tomorrow. Till then, the Good Lord willing; Much LOVE!…the path to great faith…is filled with many excruciating twists and turns…
Oh Friends, on this rainy June morn, I’m sure many, if not all of us, can use an angel to help us out of some dire circumstance in which we’re entangled. Unfortunately though, only a few will be granted that heavenly blessing, hope I’m one of them, (smile) but the rest will just have to muddle through as best we can, for it’s not every case that we think calls for heavenly help that meets the Father’s requirements. But what are angels, you ask? Hear Bruh Paul: ‘Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?’ (Heb.1:14) Yes my Friends, angels are the Lord’s helpers in the spirit world. They go around doing His bidding, re those of us who believe on His Son, Jesus, and come to him in faith; ‘the heirs of salvation.’ And for the lucky faithful who receive angelic help today, I implore us to go out and make it a powerful, revealing testimonial to our omnipotent God, just like Peter did when imprisoned by Herod. Before I get caught up in Peter’s story though, like I did with Daniel and his buddies yesterday, let’s just mention a couple other instances of angels doing yeoman service. ‘And when we cried unto the Lord, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and behold we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost part of thy border. (Num. 20:16) That’s Moses asking the people of Edom for permission to pass through their territory on the way to the Promised Land, which they refused, instead bringing out a large, strong force to intercept them. And would you believe they were family? Edom was Israel’s brother, (Deut.23:7) descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother. Then we have Bruh Paul. Hn! He must have had angels constantly around him, for the amount of trouble he got into. As he wrote to Timothy, in his trials, nobody stood by him, ‘but all men forsook me…Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’ (2Tim.4:16-18) Not that nobody cared for him, but in his last days in prison in Rome, after all he’d been through, he was convinced that only the Lord could have made it possible, and right to the very end he believed that a place was being prepared for him in heaven. Say what yuh want about Bruh Paul, mih Friends, he had one thing in great abundance, that too many of us lack; real, earth moving, mind bending faith. Oh if there was only some way to bottle it and spread it around! But sadly, faith only comes through trials, and great faith, through great trials. So much so that when Peter was sprung from jail that night, he had to shake himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. It was so easy. After killing James, John’s brother, Herod saw that it pleased the Jews, so he locked up Peter during the Passover, planning to bring him out after the feast and make him the second martyr. Security was so tight in the jail that Peter had four squads of four soldiers guarding him. ‘Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.’ (Acts 12:5) And Friends, as I keep saying, our God is the master of timing, Why? Cause the very night before Herod planned to bring out Peter and martyr him, our God staged a daring prison break. ‘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 a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. 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.’ (Acts 12:6-8) Peter did as he was told, all the time though thinking it was a dream. They walked past two guard posts, which the scholars claim the guards themselves unwittingly opened, then miracle of miracles; ‘they came unto the iron gate that 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.’ (Acts 12:10-11) Ah mih people, chalk up another miracle to the Lord, and also to the power of faith and prayer! The main gate just opened automatically. And I like the angel’s business-like manner. Once he was sure Peter was safe, he took off. Yes mih Friends, there are angels out there who minister to us, who do God’s bidding in our lives, but once they’re done, they move on to look after others, then we have to take responsibility and give serious thanks, praise and soulful testimony to the Most High for bailing us out of whatever trouble we were in. It takes a lot of faith to surrender our lives to Him completely; faith that’s hard earned. But if we truly desire to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, remember, we must be prepared to suffer some in His Name. We’ll continue this tomorrow. Till then, the Good Lord willing; Much LOVE!…the path to great faith…is filled with many excruciating twists and turns…
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