When the Rock Rolled: In the Darkest Times

July 12, 2015

When the Rock Rolled

In the Darkest of Times

Acts 12:1-19

(Advance Slide #1)

Introduction

Have you ever experienced dark times in your life?

• Your struggle with sin, depression, a lack of faith.
• Maybe your loved one is sick...death is certain and you feel alone.

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How do you respond in situations like this?

• Does it pull you closer to God or does it drive a wedge between you and God?
• Sadly, for many they lose their faith during the darkest of times.
• Is it possible to overcome the darkness and see the light of day?

So far in this lesson series we have considered the first century church.

• Specifically, the infant church right after the rock was rolled away from the tomb.

(Advance Slide #3)

• The lessons have been:
• Keep on moving...do something to advance the gospel.
• Shake things up...share those hard messages that others do not want to hear.
• How will we handle the reaction of these messages?
• Are you willing to reach out to different people?
• Have you become too comfortable...or are you willing to change.

Now, thing do not seem like they are go well...in fact Peter is facing a personal darkness.

(Advance Slide #4)

• He is in jail..facing death.
• This morning we will examine what happened and what we can learn from it when we face these dark times.

(Advance Slide #5)

Text

About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. Acts‬ ‭12‬:‭1-5‬

(Advance Slide #6)

What is going on here?

• The church is in danger...
• James, the brother of John, is dead.
• And Peter finds himself in 'chains'...he's in jail chained to two Roman soldiers.

This was not the first time he was in chains in jail.

• You see a few years earlier he was in jail and an angle can and opened the door.
• And as simply as we walked in here today Peter walked into the temple courts and began preaching Jesus.
• That time he wasn't facing death, and he wasn't chained to soldiers but King Herod is not going to take a chance.

(Advance Slide #7)

Herod, no there is an interesting character.

• He is the grandson of Herod the Great...actually he was anything but great.
• He was a wicked man and his grandson King Herod was not any better.
• Can God use someone like Herod?
• It has happened before...consider the Apostle Paul

Lesson

It is in the darkest of nights that we experience doubt.

(Advance Slide #8)

Have you ever doubted?

• We should not be ashamed...even those who walked with Jesus.
• Even those who walked with Him, those who experienced all the power and majesty doubted.
• Peter remembered this and wrote, "casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you." 1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭7
• Peter knew first hand!‬

Back to Acts 19 we find the rest of the story.

(Advance Slide #9)

• Chained to two Roman soldiers and all of the sudden...the chains are gone!
• This shouldn't have surprised him but it did!
• As soon as he realized that it was real he hurried to Mary's house.
• Inside the house they were having a prayer service or me...the entire church was praying for him to be freed.
• He knocks and knocks on the door but no one answers.
• Finally a servant comes and asks who it is and she doesn't believe him!
• She leaves him outside while she goes and tells the others.
• They finally recognize his voice and let him in.

They prayed all night for him to be released and when he was...they didn't believe it!

(Advance Slide #10)

There will come a time in your life, if it hasn't already happened, when we will feel like we are bound in chains.

• We will feel like Peter in the dark night, bound to soldiers.
• It will feel like the entire world is caving in around you.
• Everything that you hold true seems to be going away from you.

When this timed comes we cannot be ashamed...even in those dark nights.

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• We need to understand that it is in the darkest of nights that God shines His most powerful light.

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REMEMBER - Jesus, the light of the word was born in the middle of the night, a light for the darkest world.

• That is why Jesus came...He came to a world that feels pain and suffers loss to give them hope!
• We will suffer in this word and we will die in this world.
• In this world we will experience pain and loss and death!
• But we can rejoice...WE DO NOT BELONG TO THIS WORLD!

(Advance Slide #13)

Jesus' death on the cross broken our chains of sin and death!

• He gives us hope even in the darkest of nights...

In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. John‬ ‭14‬:‭2-3‬

Prayer

Conclusion

Let's not sugar coat things, in this world we will have trouble...we will experience the darkest of nights.

• The great blessing is that this world is only for a moment!

(Advance Slide #14)

While in this world we know the darkness of despair and doubt.

• But we do not belong to this world.
• One day...Jesus will return for us!

Are you ready?