SPIRITUALITY AND FAITH
now I am old; YET, I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants betting bread”. As Peter laid there sleeping in Acts 12, the angel of the Lord came into that very cell. The bars, the locks, the guards and the walls proved to be no barrier to the Lord! He came right in and did as He pleased. You see God has never forsaken His people and He never will. This should further encourage you that no matter where the path of your life leads you, you will never go there alone and He will never let you down! Further…
C. God’s Poweris seen in His PROVIDENCE(v. 7b-11). God will use whatever means is necessary to care for you in all the prison times of this life. You need to know that God will move Heaven and earth if necessary in order to meet your needs. This is seen throughout the pages of this Bible - The children of Israel and the Red Sea in Ex. 14, the Manna, springs of Water and Clothes/Shoes not wearing out for 40 yrs in Ex. 16-17 and Deut. 29:5; Elijah and the ravens and the widow and her meal in I Kings 17; The Three Hebrews and the Fiery Furnace in Daniel 3; Daniel and the Lion’s Den in Daniel 6; the Disciples in the storm in Mark 6; The hungry multitudes in John 6; and raising Lazarus from the dead, John 11. If He will do this for these folks, He will do what He has to do to meet your need as well. Matt. 6:33 promises, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”! Phil. 4:19 promises, “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” And yes…
D. God’s Power is seen in His PURPOSES (v. 12-17). The Lord used Peter’s prison to
teach Peter and the members of the church to place their trust in God and leave the matter in His hands. They could not have stormed that prison and secured his release. But TOGETHER they prayed and God worked. This prison experience taught them all that God is greater than our needs and that He is worthy of our faith! Romans 8:28 says, “We know that God causes all things to work TOGETHER for good to those who love God, to those who are called to His purpose!” After Peter’s deliverance, God killed Herod and when the threat was removed, the Gospel spread faster than ever before! May this encourage you that no matter the problem…
II. YOU CAN OVERCOME HOPELESSNESS
A. No matter what your situation may be; HOPE is one thing we all desperately need. The reason that hope is powerful, is because HOPE Changes Everything! HOPE is an awareness that there’s no problem big enough to keep God from rescuing you. Hope is an awareness that God is actually expecting, looking and longing to show you His goodness. Instead of allowing overwhelming loss, repeated failures or hurts by people to wear you down into hopelessness…God encourages us in Romans 15:13, “May the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace in believing that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing with hope.”
B. HOPE is the Happy and Confident Anticipation of GOOD. Hope dares us to believe You know what? Things might just work out after all. Hope is a positive expectation that something good is going