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Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Stand together. Open that song book up to song number 90, Jesus, Lover of My Soul. Thank you for coming. Good evening. It's all fine to see. Let's all stand together if you are able. Grab a song book. Open that song book up to song number 90, Jesus, Lover of My Soul. Let's all sing song number 90 together, Jesus, Lover of My Soul. On that first. Jesus, lover of my soul, let me do thy birth on fire. While the near waters roll, while the tempest still is high. Hide me, O my Savior, hide, till the storm of life is past. Safe into the haven guide, O receive my soul at last. But the refuge have I done, hence my helpless soul on thee. Leave, I'll leave, be not alone, still support and comfort me. All my trials on thee I say. All my health on thee I pray. Your mighty face is one with the shadow of thy wings. Now, O Christ, for all I want, more than all indeed I find. Praise the Lord and cheer the king, the ill will seek where we will lie. Just and holy is thy name, my Lord of righteousness. While I'm full of sin I am, now I'm full of truth and grace. Clench his grace with peace now, grace to cover all my sin. Let the healing stream come out, make it keep me moving. Now, O God, the mountain high, with every take I'll be. Lord, in the hope that I find, wise to all eternity. Amen. Let's open our service with a word of prayer. Father, thank you, God, for allowing us to be here, Lord God, and sing praises unto you, Lord. I pray, God, that you would fill Pastor Mehir with your Holy Spirit, God. And I pray also, Lord, that you would help us, Lord, to be attentive tonight and to leave here edified, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. Song number 114. Song number 114. Song number 114, The Great Physician. On that first. The Great Physician now is there, the symbolizing Jesus. He speaks the true big heart to cheer, O hear the voice of Jesus. Sweetest sound and sound of song. Sweetest name on mortal tongue. Sweetest care of heaven sung. Jesus, blessed Jesus, your many sins are all forgiven. O hear the voice of Jesus. Go on your way in peace to heaven and bear a ground with Jesus. Sweetest sound and sound of song. Sweetest name on mortal tongue. Sweetest care of heaven sung. Jesus, blessed Jesus, all glory to the dying cloud. I now believe in Jesus. I love the blessed Savior's name. I love the name of Jesus. Sweetest sound and sound of song. Sweetest name on mortal tongue. Sweetest care of heaven sung. Jesus, blessed Jesus, and when to that right world of love we rise to be with Jesus. We'll sing around the throne of love. His name, the name of Jesus. Sweetest sound and sound of song. Sweetest name on mortal tongue. Sweetest care of heaven sung. Jesus, blessed Jesus. All right, great singing. Thank you for being here at First Works Baptist Church. If you did not get a bulletin, go ahead and raise your hand and one of the ushers can get one for you. Our services are as follows. Sunday morning is at 1030. Sunday evening is at 5 p.m. And then we have our Thursday night Bible study at 7 o'clock. We are in Acts chapter 12 this evening. And just as a reminder, we are a family integrated church. Infants and children are always welcome in the service. But for your convenience, we do have mother-baby rooms located in the hallway should your child need some diversion. Changing tables are available in those infant rooms. And so just keep that in mind. You see the soul winning times and teams there as well. And if you'd like to learn how to soul win, you can see me after the service to be placed on a team. The list of expecting mothers, please continue to pray for the ladies in our church. That they would have a safe pregnancy and healthy delivery. That all would go well. And some of the upcoming church events, our men's prayer meeting resumes tomorrow at 7 p.m. We'll meet here at the church. We encourage you to bring your sons to come pray with you. And it's a time where we take blessings. And then we take some prayer requests. Some imprecatory prayers as well. Amen. And we used to have prayer meetings back in the day in the old IFP. There's just one element that was missing though. Those imprecatory prayers. So we're going to have that. Looking forward to it. And by the way, we need some imprecatory prayers for what's taking place next week. Some wicked people who try to stop us. And so, with that being said, the Midwest Fundamentalist Conference is still happening, by the way. They tried to shut us down. And they threatened the hotel. And they threatened the employees. And they're like, hey, we can't help you guys anymore because we're just... So I was like, alright. And they're trying to get BLM to come and protest us too. By the way, Satan can hinder us, but he can never stop us. Just remember that. And look, I do this for a living. They're not going to wear me out. This just pumps me up even more. If they think they can scare us by trying to stop us and threaten us, we do this for a living. This is life. Amen. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. But the Midwest Fundamentalist Conference continues. It resumes. It's still going on. Next week, October 1st through the 3rd. And that will be at 7 p.m. in Cincinnati, Ohio. So we're looking forward to all the great preaching and so many that's going to be done. Looking forward to that. Please be in prayer that we see a lot of people saved. And that God will use the preaching in a great way to touch the hearts of the people. Not just those attending, but those who are going to be listening online as well. And so we're excited about that. And then the fall program begins on October 4th. And that will be here at our church. It will be five weeks of different themes that we're going to be having. And the main thing is this, is that we're going to be motivating and encouraging everyone to bring a visitor in order to earn points. At the end of the fall program, there's going to be a first, second, and third prize winner. The first prize winner being the individual is going to receive basically a paid ticket to go to one of the missions trips that we're going to take in the future. And we'll let you know what the second and third prize is. But I'm going to go over the points system and prizes this Sunday. It will be in your bulletin. And we're going to spend some time going over that. And then we'd like to conclude the fall program with a banquet, a Thanksgiving banquet like we did last year. Unfortunately the venue that we typically, the one we went to last week, last year, is closed and so we can't use it. So I need your help. If you know anybody who has a venue that is able to help us out with that and facilitate approximately 125 to 130 people. Because I think that's how much we had last year. Please let me know. I don't think we're going to be able to do it in this building and so please pray for that and let me know if you know anybody who owns that. And then October 4th also we're going to be celebrating the October birthdays that will be here. We're going to have food or breakfast for everyone in honor of those who are celebrating their birthdays. And then just as a reminder that the mother baby rooms, parents make sure you supervise your children in the mother baby rooms especially. Don't let them be there unattended and bring food in there and make a mess. And toddlers, you've got to make sure that they're not in the infant room unless they're with you. And so just keep that in mind. And that's pretty much it. Also, last thing, I forgot. Typically we take so many numbers for the week on Thursday but we're now switching that to Sunday night. So you've got to make sure that if you saw someone save this week, make sure that you report those numbers to your team leader and then your team leader will report that on Sunday night. So that's pretty much it for our announcements. Let's go ahead and sing our next song. One hundred and sixty-seven, all hail the power of Jesus' name. Can I lead this one? Let me lead this one. One hundred and sixty-seven. Song number one hundred and sixty-seven in your song books. Sing it all together on that first verse. All hail the power of Jesus' name. Let angels watch and fall. Bring forth our royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all. Bring forth our royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all. He chose and seed of His will's grace. He made some of the poor. Hail Him who saves you by His grace and crown Him Lord of all. Hail Him who saves you by His grace and crown Him Lord of all. Let every kindred have reach high on this tourist room for Him. To Him all majesty has worked and crowned Him Lord of all. Nice and strong on that fourth verse. Lift it up together. That with young birds singing from free at His feet they fall. We'll join the everlasting Son and crown Him Lord of all. Great seeing that this time the ushers are going to take the offering. Great seeing that this time the ushers are going to take the offering. Great seeing that this time the ushers are going to take the offering. Good evening. We're continuing in the book of Acts chapter 12 this evening. Acts chapter number 12. 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 the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews he proceeded further to take Peter also. Then were the days of eleven bred. 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 go to 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 wished not that it was true which was done by the angel. But thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and second ward 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. 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 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 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 they departed and went into another place. Now as soon as it was day there was no small stir among the soldiers 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. And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon. But they came with one accord to him and having made blasters to kings Chamberlain their friend desired peace. Because their country was nourished by the kings country. And upon a set day Herod arrayed in royal peril sat upon his throne and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout saying it is the voice of a God and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him because he gave not God the glory. And he was eaten of worms and gave up the ghost. But the word of God grew and multiplied. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry and took with them John whose surname was Mark. We thank you Heavenly Father for this wonderful day dear God for your precious words. We thank you for this church and our pastor and we ask that you please bless him with your Holy Spirit as he preaches your word tonight. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Alright we are in Acts chapter 12 this evening and look down at your Bibles here. Well first let me make some introductory comments, statements here regarding this chapter. First and foremost we are coming out of Peter's reiteration of the events that took place with Cornelius. And that mostly has to do with chapter 10 and 11 where Peter receives that vision and it's the vision of Cornelius or it's the vision of the Gentiles so to speak. And that basically leads him to go to Caesarea and to go preach the gospel to Cornelius and his household and his friends. A lot of people get saved. He comes back. The Jews give him a hard time about going out and fellowshipping or witnessing to Gentiles. And he reiterates that same story in chapter number 11 and then they recognize well I guess you know God wants to save the Gentiles too obviously. And then they begin to go and preach the gospel some more. We see that Barnabas goes to Antioch to basically go exhort the brethren there to continue to cleave unto the Lord. And then after that we see that a dearth comes upon the known world at that time and the disciples begin to send relief unto the brethren by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. So what we see here is that a lot of activity is taking place right. You know you have the gospels being preached. People are being saved. The people are being saved are being discipled. You know Barnabas is going there telling them to cleave unto the Lord. But even aside from that they're even taking care of their physical needs of those who have those needs. I mean they're basically their ministry is firing on all four cylinders right. They're getting a lot done, a lot of activities being accomplished, a lot of success, a lot of good things happening. So what happens when you have a lot of success in ministry right. When you see a lot of people saved or you disciple people or you're just serving God what's the next thing that's going to come about. Satan's going to attack right. He said the Jews. Close, close, very close. Most of the time if you ask a question the answer more than likely is always the Jews okay. I'm just kidding. So anytime you have momentum like this just mark it down the enemies of God are looking to intervene and basically throw a wrench inside the operation okay. So keep in mind chapter 10 and 11 a lot of works are being done. People are being saved. I mean it's just a great thing. And then what we get into is chapter 12 where Herod comes in and he begins to martyr the disciples, imprison them, persecute them, etc. Now this should come as no surprise right because the Bible specifically tells us and in fact Peter says in 1 Peter chapter 4 you don't have to turn there. Verse 12, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you. But rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. So what is Peter saying? Hey don't think it's strange when things are going well and then all of a sudden Satan comes in and just throws a wrench into the operation and tries to hinder you. This is part of life and more specifically it's part of the Christian life okay. It's not strange when a fiery trial comes and people begin to persecute etc. So we should expect to see this in Acts chapter 12 okay. It happened to the disciples and by the way we shouldn't be surprised when it happens to us right. And the reason I say that is because hey our church is doing great works and then you know we're having this conference has zero to do with sodomites, nothing to do with those filthy perverts and yet they want to come and try to shut us down and call in the hotel and harassing them. They literally said they're harassing them and you know threatening them. Here's the funny thing, let me just veer off the message for a little bit to get into the message okay. You know it's funny because you know they're like you know we're afraid for the well-being of our employees and you know they're threatening and all these things. And here's the thing it's just like think about this okay. They're threatening them but it really just shows how cowardice and how afraid they are of us. You know why? Because why not just threaten us? Why not just wait till we go there and come at us? Why don't you just come at me bro when I go there? Instead they want to threaten the people who are facilitating us so that we don't go there. Oh man if you have the guts to just threaten people and try to harm them why don't you just wait till we get there? I'll tell you why because they're a bunch of sissies, that's why. A bunch of wusses, a bunch of cowardice little chihuahua dogs that are all bark but no bite okay. You know it's just like oh you know and look who am I? You know for me it's just like okay Pastor Anderson goes yeah I mean that's obvious but who am I? That they would even try to shut me down but I guess I'm a threat to them. Praise God. I guess I threaten them I guess they don't like me to the point that and they literally think. They literally think by shutting down one venue I'm just going to be oh no what are we going to do? We're just going to shut the whole thing down. People are like hey is the conference canceled? No. Why would it be canceled? You know and here's the thing they think that by doing that it's just going to discourage us, disappoint us, cause us to retreat. No way. You're just giving us more fuel. You're just giving me more points in my sermon. You're just going to get more shout outs in the sermon as I condemn you by the word of God. So have at it. You have this entire week reprobates. Do your worst. I shall not be moved amen. But it's given it's going to happen right? This is something that should be expected. We shouldn't consider it a strange thing. You know that this should come upon us and this isn't persecution. I mean this is persecution at like a very low level because I guarantee they won't even show up even if they did find out where we were. They're not going to show up. They're just scared. They're too afraid. That is the attribute of some psychopathic reprobate who hates God. God has instilled the dread of him and of us in their hearts. They're afraid of us. And they should be. So we see that happening and they're doing great works and look at verse number one. Now about that time. What time? The time of relief. The time that the gospel is being preached. These great works are being done. About that time Herod the king stretched forth his hand to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. Because he saw it pleased the Jews he proceeded further to take Peter also. Then were the days of unleavened bread. I guess it's time for his reelection. He just needs the vote of these Jews to be able to keep his office. So we see here that he begins to vex the saints. What is he doing? What does it mean to vex? It simply means to torment or to disturb, to distress or to stir up, right? And by the way, you know who's really good at vexing people? It's devils. You study the New Testament and the gospels. People who come to Jesus with a possessed son. They're always saying, hey, my son is sore vexed because of the spirit. You know, my daughter is vexed. Why? Because they are possessed by a devil and that's exactly what Herod is. He is a reprobate. He is a devil who is seeking to stop the work of God and try to inflict pain in order to hinder them. But obviously that's not going to work. Now, they obviously knew that this was going to happen. And the reason I say this is because Jesus prophesied unto them and preached and said, hey, they're going to bring you before kings and magistrates, right? They're going to bring you before synagogues, kings and magistrates, so on and so forth. Now, hold your place there. Go to 2 Thessalonians chapter 3. Let me just go over a couple of verses here before we get into the rest of the chapter. 2 Thessalonians chapter 3. You see, this side of eternity is filled with war, spiritual battles, right? We're constantly warring, but not after the flesh. It's a spiritual warfare where we're fighting against demons and devils that possess human beings that are trying to hinder the work of God. Now, why are they trying to stop us? Is it because, you know, we're a threat to them physically? No. What's the threat? It's the truth. Because they know they can do nothing against the truth but for the truth. I mean, they're treating the disciples and the apostles like some crazy criminals. We see later on that they arrest Peter with four different guards. I mean, seriously, is he that much of a threat where you have to have four guards watching him on the left and on the right and two in the front? Why the maximum security prison for a preacher of the gospel? I'll tell you why, because the most threatening thing to the forces of darkness is the gospel, is the truth of God's Word. They know that that can transform people's lives. They know that that can change someone's eternity and not only that, if that individual gets saved, they get grounded, they get in church, they start serving God. I mean, there's no telling what they can do. The sky's the limit for how God can use that individual and they don't want that to happen. Look at 2 Thessalonians 3 verse 1. It says, finally, brethren, pray for us. Pray for us that, you know, we win the lottery or, you know, that we prosper financially. No, pray for us that the Word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified even as it is with you. Now, look, folks, we're not saying that the Word of God is not powerful. We're not saying it's incapable, but what we are saying is this, is that sometimes it can be hindered. Not because it lacks power, but because there's an enemy who seeks to hinder it. This is why he's saying, pray that the Word of the Lord has free course, no hindrances. He says in verse number 2, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men. That should be our prayer for tomorrow night, right? Lord, deliver us from unreasonable and wicked men. Because I might just beat someone down if I go to the conference or something. Or maybe you should deliver them from me. No, I'm just kidding. But why do we want to be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men so that they don't hinder the Word of God? Because look, folks, at the end of the day, we just want people to be saved. We want people to learn the Word of God. So we want to be delivered from them. And look, by the way, folks, this is your reprobate doctrine right here. Look what it says, for all men have not faith. Why? Because the reprobate is concerning the faith, right? So these unreasonable and wicked men is not just referring to your regular sinner who just is not religious or maybe is a little antagonistic towards religion. This is referring to a wicked individual who hates God, has not faith. But the Lord is faithful who will establish you and keep you from evil, the Bible says. Now go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. So look, folks, we need to pray. Look, when we go off sowing, we should pray, Lord, give the Word of the Lord free course. May it have free course. May we not be hindered. You know, if we run into a reprobate or some wicked individual, deliver us from evil. Deliver us from the time wasters. Look at 1 Thessalonians 2.17. But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart endeavor the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I, Paul, once and again, but Satan hindered us. So we see there that Satan can hinder people, right? Not stop them, but hinder them. Slow them down. Wear them out. Try to put blocks and roadblocks and walls in order for them to not accomplish the things that God wants us to do. You see that there. Now, as I mentioned, they can hinder us, but they can't stop us. Now I will say this, is that they hindered James because they killed him. But did they really stop James? No, because now he has a martyr's crown. Now he's receiving because to him to live is Christ and to die is gain. See, for the Christian, you know, it's a win-win situation whether we live, earn more rewards, or we die and we just get a crown, you know, a martyr's crown and we get rewarded early. We get a better resurrection because of it. So they could have hindered him, but they didn't stop James. And of course, this is referring to James the son of Zebedee. If you remember, James the son of Zebedee, James and John, who are brothers, they're the ones who came to Jesus and they wanted to sit on his right hand and on his left hand. And then ultimately, Jesus was like, hey, are you able to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with and drink the cup that I drink of? And what did they say? We are able. You know what, James? You're right. You took it. You drank the cup, you were baptized with the suffering, and guess what? He earned his reward. Amen? One of the sons of thunder. Now, obviously, this isn't Herod's first rodeo, right? It's not like, you know what, my campaign this year, I'm just going to turn on Christians. I'm just going to start putting them to death. Folks, he was doing that from the very beginning. He's the one that put who to death? John the Baptist. He beheaded John the Baptist, he killed him, he mocked Jesus. He mocked Jesus and Jesus didn't even bother to try to give him the gospel when he came before him because he already knew he was a reprobate. He answered him not a word, the Bible says. Why? Because he was already a dog who he should not cast as pearls before. So we'll get into Herod in just a bit. Now, here is the main message for tonight. Go back to Acts chapter 12. I need a cup of water. Can someone give me a cup of water real quick? My throat's been really dry. So here's the main thing. Well, let me just give an overview of chapter 12, what's going on here. Herod kills James, he imprisons Peter. This is where we find Peter's miraculous prison escape, you know, by the angel. He escapes and he goes to Mary's house and what happens is that they're praying there. They don't believe it's him. They're just like, wow. And then at the end, what we see happening is that Herod dies. He is eaten of worms, right? Pretty cool story. But there's actually a lot of symbolic meaning behind a lot of this. And we're going to get into that. So first and foremost, I want you to understand that when we read the New Testament or just anywhere in the Bible, but specifically the New Testament, we always got to view it with a specific lens, okay? And why is that? Well, because, you know, the Bible is so inexhaustible, don't just get caught up in the first layer of interpretation. There's often multiple layers in a story, in a parable. Now why is that? Is it because God wants to confuse us? No. It's because the Bible is just deep like that, okay? The Bible is extremely deep. It has a lot of knowledge and there's so many beautiful things. And look, folks, there's people on this earth that go their entire lives without seeing these nuggets of truth. They live. They get saved. They die. They go to heaven and they never experience this. Thank God that we're able to see things like this in the Bible. And let me just say this. God is the basis and foundation. A lot of reasons why people can't get these nuggets of truth, it's not because we're special. It's nothing because, you know, oh, we're so smart and God is just, you know, favoring us. It's simply because we have the right doctrine. And these other people like Pre-Tribbers, Zionists, the reason they don't get to see the deep things of God is because they have a faulty doctrine. So they view everything from their false doctrine. That's why they stay away from the book of Revelation, right? Ah, it's too confusing. But when you have the right doctrine, when you have the right end times Bible prophecy doctrine, guess what? You begin to see a lot of things throughout the Word of God where it's just like, whoa, this is all over the Bible. And what it does is it reinforces even more what we believe. You know, obviously we get our teachings and our beliefs from the clear teachings of Scripture. But you know what, it's just the icing on the cake when you find parables and stories that basically reinforce those teachings, okay? Now, that was a preface to what I'm about to say. A lot of what we see in chapter 12 actually is a picture of end times tribulation, okay? Now, why is that? Well, let's read it again. Verse 1, it says, Now, we're going to see a lot of sprinkling of end times Bible prophecy in this chapter. Now, first and foremost, what do we see? Well, prior to chapter 12, we see that the gospel is being preached in all the world, do we not? Because we see in chapter 10, Peter going to Cornelius and Caesarea. We see the disciples going to Antioch in different regions, and they're preaching the gospel. They're seeing a lot of people saved, right? Well, it says in Matthew 24, What do we see after that? We see Herod making war with the saints. It says that he stretched forth his hand to vex certain of the church, and he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. Now, go to Revelation chapter 6, if you would. Hold your place there. I'm going to read to you from John 16, verse 2 says, Now, a lot of what you see in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, they have immediate application. You know, they suffered immediate persecution. Those things actually happen in their time, but it's also a foreshadowing of what's going to take place in the end times, right? Well, look at Revelation 6, verse 9. It says in verse 9, And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. You say, well, that's pretty, you know, okay, I give you that. All right, yeah, you know, killing saints, you know, martyrdom. Just remember, I give you the easy stuff to swallow first, all right? Here comes the meat. Go to Revelation 2. So keep in mind, Herod is making war with the saints. He kills James with the sword, and he throws Peter into prison. Very likened unto end times Bible prophecy, where in Revelation 6, 9, there are martyrs. But what does the Bible also say? That people will be thrown into prison. Look at Revelation 2, 10. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried. And ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. You don't have to turn there. But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake, okay? So what is Peter being done? He's being brought forth before Herod, which is a king, right? And then Herod's trying to hold him until after Easter to bring him before the who? The Jews. The multitude. Kind of what we see in Revelation chapter 3, right? Now, what happens to Peter? He's in prison. He's being held down by these four security guards, one on each side, okay? And what happens? We see the angel comes, right? And what does the angel do? He gathers together his elect. His elect. He comes and he gathers Peter, okay? The Bible says in Acts 12, go back to Acts chapter 12. So we see that a light shines through in the prison, he smites Peter in the side, and he delivers him from the four soldiers, the security guards. You wonder, why four? Why is there four? Is he armed or something? Does he know Brazilian jiu-jitsu? Is he a kickboxer? Why? Nothing is coincidental or accidental in the Bible. Look at Acts 12 verse 6, it says, 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 light shined in the prison. And he smote Peter on the side, and look what it says, and raised him up. Ah, that's a coincidence. Saying, Arise up quickly, and his chains fell off from his hands. Great miracle, right? I mean, this literally happened. I mean, you think of Peter, he gets spinned, and he's just like, what? And the angel's like, up! Arise from the dead! He rises up, just as the rapture is us rising up, right? What falls off? The chains of sin, as far as our flesh is concerned. You know, we're sown in corruption, and we are raised in incorruption, okay? And these people are sleeping, right? Now, go to Matthew 24. If you don't enjoy this, I will. I like this. Look at Matthew 24, verse 31. Because you wonder, what's with the theatrics in Acts chapter 12? The light, the smiting, the four soldiers, all this terminology, why is it being used? Well, it's because God is layering this story to teach us other things as well, to reinforce other beliefs that we already have. Matthew 24, verse 31. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the, what? Four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. And just as Peter is delivered from the four quaternions, or whatever you call them, the soldiers, sorry if I mispronounced that, God is going to gather together his elect through the angels from the four corners of the earth, from the four winds and the four corners of the earth. Go back to Acts chapter 12. Are we seeing a pattern here of what's taking place? So we see that Herod is making war with the saints. He kills James. He imprisons Peter. Peter is in prison. He's probably thinking, I'm done. They're going to deliver me to the Jews tomorrow or whenever Easter is done. And the Jews, I'm not very popular with the Jews. He's not necessarily a popular candidate for release. I mean, the Jews hate him, right? They've been beating him up. They've been doing all these things to him. And he's like, I'm done. And what happens? A miraculous event takes place where the angel comes, smites him on the side, light shining, and he releases him from the prison. So what happens when the angel is leading him? Look at verse 10. When they were past the first and second ward, they came into 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, for with the angel departed from him. So Peter was delivered, basically. Now, what do we see that, what is that symbolic of, the fact that he's passing the gate? Well, the iron gate is often symbolic in the Old Testament of Egypt. It's the world. It's like when we die, we depart from this world. Well, where do we go? Into the city, which is New Jerusalem. We go to heaven is where we go to, okay? So this is pretty neat. So we see Herod making war with the saints. James is murdered. Peter is in prison. The angel comes, gathers together his elect. He delivers him from the four winds, from the four corners of the earth, so to speak. He's delivering through the streets, through the ward, you know, up into the gate and into the city. And then what do we see at the very end? We see Herod dying. Now, why did he die? Because they said, this is a voice of a God and not of man. And like man or the antichrist, will proclaim himself to be God. Right? He will sit in the temple of God showing himself that he is God. And what happens to Herod? The Lord smites him and he is eaten of worms and he dies. Well, what happens to the antichrist at the end of those three and a half years? He is cast into the lake of fire where the fire is not quenched and the worm dieth not. Coincidence? I think not. He's there for a reason. So I think that was pretty cool. I saw it and I was just like, dang, this is cool. I want to share this with the church. Now, why do you think that God puts stories like this with so many layers? I think it's really just to prepare us even more. I think what it is, is that he's showing a pattern of persecution throughout the Bible to help us to realize, hey, it's going to happen to you, too. OK? Now there's a couple more things that I want to show you. Look at verse five of chapter 12. By the way, doesn't it increase your faith in your position? It increases my faith. I mean, I've never doubted my position because we have clear statements, but it just cakes it on even more so. Stories and parables that reinforce what we already believe. Look at verse number five. It says, Peter, therefore, was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. Now, who are the ones that are praying? Look at verse 12. Skip down to verse 12. 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. Now go with me, if you would, to Luke 18. Go to Luke 18. I don't think I put the scripture here. So a great miracle is done. And let me just say this, is that I believe in the end times, during the tribulation, the beginning of sorrows, and great tribulation. I believe there's going to be a resurgence of miracles. OK? Where we are going to be speaking with tongues, not in tongues, with tongues. I believe there's going to be a resurgence of miracles, where God's going to deliver people. Maybe he's going to allow us to speak in a different language in order to preach the gospel to others, those we run into. I think there's going to be a resurgence of miracles. And I believe you can prove that using Joel 2 and Acts chapter 2. Why? Because why not go out with the bang? I mean, the world's about to end. He's just like, you know, he's been giving us a cup of the Spirit little by little, and then he just drinks the whole thing. You know, this stuff's about to get real right now, OK? So I believe that. Now, with that being said, I believe we're going to see miracles like this, where people, Christians, are imprisoned. And what happens is the Lord just delivers them. Right? Now, what's the proof of that? Well, the proof of that is the fact, well, let me just say this first. The miracles, I believe, are going to take place in the end times, but I also believe it's going to work in tandem with our prayers. OK? So it's not like God's going to be like, well, I'm just going to do all the miracles. You guys don't ask for anything. No, I believe we need to pray. Right? And in fact, why is it that the angel came to Peter? Well, we see it because the church of God was praying for him. That's why. They were fervently praying for his deliverance, folks. So what is that? What should that teach us? That should teach us this. Hey, you better get your prayer life straightened out today. Because you're going to need some endurance and prayer when the time calls for it. There's going to be times when your brother, your son, your daughter, your mom, your dad, your saved fellow brother in Christ is in prison, and you have to pray to get for God to perform that miracle to deliver him out of that prison because he's a faithful soul winner, she's a faithful soul winner, whatever it may be. And look at the proof of that. Look at Luke chapter 18, verse number one. And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint, saying there was in a certain city a judge which feared not God, neither regarded man. And there was a widow in that city, and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while, but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man, yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. So what's this parable saying? The only reason the judge was willing to avenge this woman is because she was persistent in asking. The Bible would also refer to as what? Importune in prayer. You just keep asking and keep asking and keep asking. And he basically capitulated to her desire of what she wanted. He's like, I'm just going to give it to her, because she just keeps coming back. He says, lest by her continual coming she weary me, verse six, And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith, and shall not God avenge his own elect, which cried day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? He said, look, if the unjust judge, some unsaved wicked judge, who's a respecter of people, is willing to deliver this woman just because she was persistent in prayer, how much more the righteous God, when his people come to him in prayer, asking continuously for their needs. Now what's the tie to end times Bible prophecy? Look at verse eight. I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? That's a challenge. By the way, when it says when the Son of Man cometh, what is that referring to? The second coming of Christ. That's the only other time he's going to come after this point right here is the second coming. And what he's saying, when I come back, will I find that type of faith on this earth of people who are persistent in prayer, in portune, in prayer, to release their brethren from death, from prison, from whatever, from persecution? Will I find that type of faith on earth? I would hope that we can say, Lord, I've exercised myself into prayer. And when the time comes, I'll put in the work to pray, to pray in order to see those miracles. So this is a plug-in for the men's prayer meeting tomorrow, amen? Hey, if you don't pray today, you can't expect to be a prayer warrior in the end times, right? You know, you have these people who are like, oh, yeah, the end times, man. I'll go out guns blazing, I'll preach the gospel. But they're not even doing it today. It's all talk. Folks, you've got to be doing it today if you want to do it then. Man, I'm preaching the word of God, and man, I don't care what people say, I'm just going to go out guns blazing, and I'm just going to be preaching the word, and people, you know, I don't care who comes at me. Really, are you doing that today? Can you show up to the sowing time today? Can you lead a soul to Christ today? Are you reading your Bible today? I mean, I'm saying in that time, I'm going to be doing it. I'm working my way to be that way, you know? You're all talk. So God find faith on this earth when the time comes for it. And look, I'm not some extravagant prayer warrior, you know? I probably struggle as much as you do with praying and making sure I'm consistent and praying over my entire prayer list and making sure that I think of certain individuals and pray for them, you know? But the point is this, we need to be consistent in prayer. Look, folks, if you pray, it's better to pray five minutes a day than not pray at all. It's better to pray 10 minutes a day than not to pray at all. It's better to pray 15, 20 minutes a day than not to pray at all. But just, you should work your way up to that, though, okay? Because there's going to come a time when people, our brethren, will need it. Go back to Acts chapter 12. So let's look at Peter's escape here. It says in verse 6, and we already went over some of it, but let's read it again. It says in verse number 6, 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 the light shined in the prison, and he smote Peter on the side and raised them up, saying, Arise up quickly, and his chains fell off from his hand. So I'm wondering if, like, Peter is just, like, he's asleep at the wheel, so to speak, right? Isn't it interesting that two stories in the Bible of people who are symbolically representing the rapture have to be pulled out? Because Lot was the same way. The angels had to come in and just yank his rear end out, right? And the same thing with Peter. It's like the angel had to come in, smite him on the side, and lead him all the way out. He says in verse number 8, 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 though he thought he saw a vision. So what he's thinking is, like, maybe I'm having an Ezekiel vision here, you know, where God is grabbing Ezekiel by the hair, and he's just pulling him around, showing him the vision. This is what he's thinking. Verse 10, When they were past the first and second war, they came into the iron gate that leadeth them to the city, which opened to them of his own accord. So picture that, they're like walking, and he's probably thinking, who's going to open up this gate? And it just opens by itself. It's one of those sliding doors. No Jedi power needed. It just opens up. Right? That's interesting. So who's the one who opened it? It's not a trick question, folks. God. You know, because God, you know, Revelation 3, he opens doors which no man can shut. Right? Opened them of his own accord, and they went out and passed on through one street, the streets of gold, amen? And forth the angel departed from him. Verse 11, When Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety that the Lord has sent this angel and had delivered me out of the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. So he comes to himself, he's just like, reality hits. Like, oh, dang, this really did happen. I'm not dreaming. This isn't a vision. I'm actually out. And you know what? I think a lot of us when we get to heaven, it's going to be just like that. Because the rapture, the resurrection of our bodies, especially those who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, it's going to seem like a dream. You've never seen anything like that before. Hollywood can't even produce something as so extravagant as a rapture. It's going to be an amazing sight. Where corpses are just flying out of the cemetery left and right. I mean, think about people who are in airplanes just looking out the window. You just see a bunch of bodies coming out of the ground flying through the sky. Oh, I thought it was like a seeker rapture with just our clothes fall. That's a pervert's doctrine, folks. Some pervert came up with that. Yeah, let's have them get raptured and lose all their clothes. John Nelson Darby? Little pervert. Folks, I mean, it's going to be an amazing sight for us, but it's going to be a terrible sight for the unsaved. How scary for them to see something like that. Where dirt is just, I mean, there's dirt in the sky from all the people coming out of the graves. I mean, drive by a cemetery one day, it's just like these people are coming out one day. At least some of them, right? You know, people are just flying through the air. You have Jesus Christ coming in the clouds. You have that breach in the sky where, you know, everything is dark and then the glory of Jesus appears. He just breaches the realm between eternity and the physical realm. He descends, and he's not like a lamb who's just there to just, you know, he's coming peaceably. He's coming to make war. He's gathering together his elect. People are just flying from all over the place. They're getting raptured. I mean, we're part of that. I don't know, but I've always wanted to fly. I'm serious, since I was a kid, it's just like, what kid has not wanted, I mean, we've always wanted to fly, right? God's going to fulfill that desire. See ya. Hold a grenade and just, you know, just like, see ya later. It's going to be great. But you know, it's almost going to seem like a vision. And it's not until we're in heaven when we come to ourselves. It's like, this is the real deal. That's it, no more. Work is done. There's Jesus. We shall forever be with the Lamb. There's going to be people there who are, you know, it's going to be a great day, but it's going to be a sad day for a lot of people too. Because then there's going to be a lot of regret. Dang, I should have done more. I had so much more time to do so much more, to win so much more, to do so much more. You know that song, I wish I had given him more? Have you guys ever heard that song? I saw a lot of people are going to feel when they reach eternity. I don't want to feel that way. I want to be like Peter where it's just like, he comes to himself and it's just like, this is it. God delivered me. And it's interesting because he says he's delivered from the expectation of the people. And the Bible tells us in Romans 8, 19, for the earnest expectation of the creature waited for the manifestation of the soul. The creature waited for the manifestation of the sons of God. We're delivered from that expectation, but our expectation is actually fulfilled when we are raptured and we're taken to heaven. Every once in a while we've got to talk about the rapture. We've got to talk about the resurrection. Because it kind of helps us to just realign our focus, right? 2020 sucks. It sucks so bad. But you know what? 2020 is not even a drop in the bucket in comparison to the glory that shall be revealed in us. It's nothing. Folks, we're in heaven 10,000 years into, a thousand years into the millennial reign. If someone brings up 2020, it's like, whoa, I don't remember what happened. Don't remind me. What is it that happened? Now here's the thing is, let me mention a couple other things here. When I first started reading the Bible, 2007, all the way up until years later, I used to think to myself, why did James, why did James die? Isn't that weird? We know about Stephen, the work that he's doing, and then he's just martyred. But then James just gets this one verse, he's just killed with the sword. And then Peter's delivered. So James is delivered into the hands of the enemy, but then Peter is delivered from the hands of the enemy. You just kind of wonder why. Like, whoa, why did that happen? Now that I view this through the lens of end times Bible prophecy, I think I have the answer. Because in my opinion, the people who are going to be martyred in the end times are these two categories right here. The one is the one who's just not doing anything for God. They're not soul winning, they're not serving God, they're going to be the first to go. Pardon my language, but they're like the pawns of end times Bible prophecy, where they're going to be the first ones to go. It's true. I believe that. You can reference my Revelation series for that, as far as why I believe that. The second group, because we see that there are souls under the altar that are slain for the testimony which they held. So these are people who aren't weakling, watered down Christians. These guys are like, they're preaching the gospel, they're doing the work. Why were they killed? Well, I'll tell you why. Because of the fact that they refused to be delivered. And we see that in Hebrews chapter 11. But there's some who actually refused to be delivered so that they may obtain a better resurrection. So it's like God opens the door for them to escape. He opens the prison doors. He allows them to just, hey, it's your time to go. And they're just like, I'll take the better resurrection. I'll just die. Because then they get a martyr's crown. And you know what, there's no indication in the New Testament that James was some weakling Christian. I don't think he was. I don't think he was just this weakling Christian who didn't do any soul and wasn't serving God. You know, I believe he was a preacher of the gospel, and when the sword came to him, he was just like, do it. Come at me, bro. You're about to make my resurrection that much better. So those are the two types of people that are going to die, in my opinion. And that's why I believe happened to him. Now go to Revelation chapter 3. Revelation chapter 3. We'll go to two more portions of scripture. Revelation 2 and 3 are the letters that are written to the seven churches which are in Asia. And a lot of people have just made a direct application to those specific churches, but they actually have symbolic meaning of end times Bible prophecy. And we see that here, what the church of Philadelphia says in verse 7, and to the angel of the church of Philadelphia, right? These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth. So it doesn't matter what prison you're in. It doesn't matter if you're on some deserted island, on some prison that they put out there, Alcatraz. God has the keys to every single prison door. He can open and no man will shut, and he can shut and no man will open. So not only is he able to open the doors of opportunity for you to escape, you know people who die and go to hell, he closes that door, they're never coming back. Or how about people who become reprobates like Herod? You know some people get the door closed on them a little sooner than later. When they're twice dead and plucked up by the roots. Like these wicked individuals trying to shut us down just for having a conference on fundamentalism. I guarantee the vast majority of those people, if not all of them, they've had the door shut of salvation upon them. And thank God for that! You know what God did to those people? He closed the door and threw away the key! Let's read on. Verse 8. I know thy works, behold I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it. Not the Quaternions, not the security guards, not Herod. For thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. So why did God let Peter escape? Because the guy's doing the work! He just got finished leading, you know, Cornelius to the Lord and a bunch of Gentiles. You know, Peter has his flaws, but man, bless God, he's doing the work! He's preaching the word of God, he loves the Lord, he's serving God! And that's what he's saying, he's like, you've kept my word, you haven't denied my name, go! You're free to go, here's your get out of jail free card right here. Why would he do that? Because he knows he's going to do more work. Look folks, this is the reason I want to keep serving God. So when the situation comes up like this, God's like, no, I need him to be free. He needs to go win more people to Christ. So let's just sleep everyone in here, you know, let's just have everyone turn a blind eye to this. You know, it'll be like the equivalent, like if we go to prison, it's just the prison doors open, and then the cameras just don't work anymore. You walk right before the security guard, he just can't see you. It can happen. Hey, McDonald's, it can happen. I believe it can happen. Verse nine says this, Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan. You know those Jews who are just like, oh, tomorrow's the day we're going to try and kill Peter. He's done. Herod already arrested him, he wants us to vote Herod. He wants us to vote Herod, so he's going to do what we tell him. Well, God's like, I'm going to make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they're Jews and are not.