"~reedom" ".. but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him." Acts 12:5. Peter is freed from prison by the hand of God.

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1 ----~ ~~~ "~reedom" Acts 12:1-19 Peter is freed from prison by the hand of God. the first and second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth into the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel dqxirted from him. And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hands 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 M.ary 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 harken, named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter's wice,sheopened not the gate with 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 they were astonished." Acts 12:1-16 "Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James, the brother oflohnwith the sword. And becausehesawitpleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread,) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. 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 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. And he went out and followed him: and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. When they were past 168-Grade3 ".. but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him." Acts 12:5 L The persecution begins A. Herod is now persecuting the Church 1. This is the first time since the conver sion of Paul that a persecution of the church is noted 2. It is now the civil authority rather then the Pharisees that are doing the per secuting B. Herod sought to select certain leaders of the movement

2 1. He may have been upset at some of the things said by the Christians about him 2. He may have been upset at just a few of its leaders C. Herod had arrested James 1. One of the first three apostles selected by Jesus 2. He had him beheaded 3. He became one of the first martyrs of the church D. Now Herod has arrested Peter 1. He has put him in prison 2. He had seen to it that there could be no escape a. He placed a large contingent of guards around him b. Put him in a locked cell c. Put him in a prison with several doors and check points d. Secured the prison with a locked iron gate with guards e. handcuffed Pete r with chains and attached them to guards on each side 3. He decided to have Peter executed after Easter a. He did not want the followers to make Peter into a martyr by having him executed on the same day as they remembered the resurrection of Jesus b. It was the Passover feast and he did not want to anger the Jewish leaders. c. Unlike the quick death of Stephen and James this gave the church time to pray. II. The Prayers A. The church gathered together and prayed 1. They prayed unceasingly 2 They prayed specifically for the release of Peter and for his safety B. The church prayed 1. In their houses 2 In private gatherings 3. In their prayer closets C. God heard and answered their prayers 1. Not immediately 2. At the final hour, just before Peter was to be executed a. God knew that the faith of the people would be built up as they continued to pray b. God knew tha t as the hour drew closer the people would pray more earnestl y c. God's time table is not always what we had in mind but it is alwa ys accurate Ill The escape A. An angel came unto Peter 1. He woke him from his sleep a. Touched him with his sword b. Touched him on his side 2. He told him to rise up a. His handcuffs fell off b. The angel was surrounded by a great light 3. The angel told him to prepare himself a. Straighten up his clothes b. Strap on his sandals c. Put on his garment 4. The angel then told him to follow him B. The miraculous escape 1. The guards were either asleep or frightened unto unconsciousness by the angel 2. No one bothered to stop Peter and the angel a. Not the two guards he was hand cuffed to b. None of the guards at the check points c. None of the guards at the front gate d. Not even the front gate itself 1) It opened by itself 2) No one touched it 3) No one used a key 3. They escaped into the streets of Jerusa lem a. Peter wasn't even sure it was all happening b. He thought it might be a vision or a dream c. Then he realized that he was a free man and that it had really hap pened d. Then the angel vanished IV. The homecoming A. The church was still praying unceasingly 1. They had gathered at Mary's Calvary Temple Church, Inc. Grade3-169

3 the mother of Mark 2. Only one of them heard a noise at the door B. Peter came to Mary's house 1. He knocked but only one person heard him a. Rhoda, a young girl, came to the gate b. She recognized Peters voice c. Instead of opening the door, she ran to tell the others C. Their unbelief 1. Rhoda told them that Peter was at the Gate a. They told her she was mad b. They did not believe her c. We too often do not listen to the miracles that God is giving for us in the midst of our prayers for those same miracles 2. They then heard the knocking and yelling of Peter at the gate and in stead of believing it to be a miracle, they thought it was the ghost of Peter 3. Finally someone went and opened the gate to discover that it was truly Peter who was standing there D. Their praise 1. Peter told them what had happened in the prison 2. Then he departed a. He knew that they would coming looking for him b. He went to a place of safety God listens to the prayers of his people. When god's people are doing God's work, there wall also come great persecution. God can do the miraculous. God's people need to also listen to the voice of a child when that voice carries with it the answer to our prayers. Peter was asleep in the prison the night before his execution because he was prepared to give his life as a martyr for the faith, just as we should be. We are called to pray unceasingly for deliverance. This is the second of four lessons out of the book of Acts. We are laying a foundation for our third graders of the legacy of the church and it's early leaders. We are also exposing our young people to the dedication to prayer that existed in the early church. Last week we discovered that God had called Peter to take His message to the gentiles. Now this week we find Peter as one of the persecuted. Herod was now taking a more commanding role in both the political as well as religious scene in Israel. He had been upset by something that had been said or done by the Christians and had determined to put a stop to their movement. He did not persecute all of them as Saul had sought to do, but chose instead to select certain leaders and make them examples. He began this persecution by capturing and beheading James. James was one of the first apostles called by Jesus so his death had alarmed the church. Perhaps it was because it happened so fast, but you may note that there is no mention of the church coming together for prayer for James as is noted when Peter is arrested. Maybe they did not think that Herod would actually execute James. Maybe, it was done so fast that they could not react. But whatever the situation, when Peter was arrested the scripture says that the entire church went to prayer Grade3

4 - Does God hear our prayers. The answer is most definitely, Yes! Here is the perfect example of God answering the unceasing prayers of His people for the deliverance of Peter. Note however, that the deliverance did not take place immediately. It took place after several days of prayer and, as it were, the last minute. Just hours before Peter was to be executed, God raised His hand and sent deliverance to Peter as an answer to their prayers. An angel came to deliver Peter from what would seem to be an impossible setting. Herod had secured Peter in such a manner that he felt no one could help him escape. He was handcuffed to two guards and locked in a cell. There were several checkpoints that lined the route out of the prison that were all staffed by a large contingent of guards. Then he secured the iron gate of the prison with a large lock and stationed guards there round the clock. There was no way for Peter to escape or for others to free him. But God can do all things. The angel awakened the sleeping Peter. Peter was not laying awake fretting over his fate. He was asleep, knowing that if God was going to deliver him, He would do so. He also knew that if he was to die, then he would be ever faster in the presence of Jesus again. That was a true demonstration of Peter's faith. The angel awoke him and told him to rise up and get ready. He didn't hurry him, he didn't have too. Peter dressed and put on his sandals. The angel cast a light that was bright enough for Peter to see in the darkened cell. The handcuffs fell off of Peter's wrists and he was able to walk freely out the opened cell doors. They walked through each check point and were never stopped or questioned. They came to the iron gate and it opened by itself. God had provided a miracle. Peter found himself on the streets of Jerusalem wondering if it had really happened and conclud ing that he was free and God was alive. When Peter came to the home of Mary where the people had gathered he must have been excited to let them know that he was alive. He pounded on the door of the gate but everyone was so deep in prayer that only a young girl by the name of Rhoda heard and came to the door. She was so excited to hear the voice of Peter that instead of opening the gate she ran back to those that were in prayer and told them that Peter was at the gate. They did not believe her. They had been so consumed by their prayers, and maybe because it was the last hours, they had given up hope. They could not believe this young girl could be bringing them the message that they had sought. But many times God uses children to bring us the answers to our prayers. The people said that Rhoda was mad (crazy). Then others heard the knocking at the door as Peter continued to try and get someones attention. Would it not have been terrible to have been rescued from prison only to be recaptured at the house of your fellow believers because they did not believe in the miracle. The second time they heard the voice they presumed it to be the ghost of Peter, again a lack of faith in the answer to their prayers. But finally, someone went to the door and let Peter in. There was a short time of excitement and joy and then Peter had to depart to go into seclusion. God wants us to know that He is in charge of the time. We should not be weary of prayer and trust that He is always in control. This is the lesson that the third graders need to leave with this week. That God answers prayers. Even when we do not see it right away, even when it is not the answer that we thought we wanted. God is still in control and in the prayer answering business. He will reveal to you later why He has done some of the things the way He did them, but for now we need to stand firm in our faith and our trust of Him. Grade 3-171

5 Puppet Have a puppet play the part of Peter and tell the story of the escape, the angel and the situation at Mary's house. Skit Have a person dress up to play the part of Rhoda (if you have a child in your class who has the ability to play this part, give her the script at least a week in advance and have her play the part) Have this person tell all about what happened withjamesand then the arrest of Peter. Have Rhoda detail the escape and all of the guards that Peter had to go past. Then have her tell of what happened at the house and how no one believed her that it was Peter at the door. 172-Grade 3 C 1992 Calvary Temple Church, Inc.