Title: Unbelief (Acts 12:11-25)
Content Peter was released from prison with the help of angels thanks to the earnest intercession of the saints. It was impossible for him to escape from the prison in which he was held. What we can see here is that for God, easy and impossible things are the same. It's the same with a cold or cancer or God.
verse 12
When Peter comes out of prison, he goes to Mark's house. When I went there, a lot of people were gathering and praying. When Peter was arrested, I was praying because there was no other way, and I am still praying. How happy it would be if you went to a church and were worshiping at home. When you come to church and the church is quiet, it doesn't feel good. When I came to the church, I saw the sound of prayer here, the sound of prayer there, the Bible here and the Bible there, and whether you go in the morning or in the evening, something alive and moving is a church. Such a church is a living church. We hope that Manmin Church will become such a church. The sound of prayer does not stop, the sound of hymns does not stop, and the sound of laughter does not stop, and that is the true church. I hope your family will be like that too.
So, how heartbreaking for Peter must have been when he saw that he was praying for him while he was in prison.
smart. I knocked on the door. Rode, the girl who runs the errands, has come to open the door. “Who are you?” “I am Peter” Hearing Peter’s voice, Rhodes was amazed, delighted, and moved. So I forgot to open the door. It's fun. When I heard the sound, I was so startled that I ran right in. It wouldn't have been a problem if I opened the door a little and went in. They went in and said that Peter had come. People's reactions to this are really interesting.
Verse 15
When Peter came, Hani said he was crazy. Who is praying for a return now? We pray for Peter to return. Peter is back. But people said I was crazy. This is what we look like. The girl said, 'No, I'm really here. I heard.' So I made a concession. ‘Then it must be Peter’s angel’
We can find a few things here.
It is the fact that we see unbelief in not believing what we pray for here. Our problem is not that we do not pray, but that we do not believe what we pray for.
Ladies and gentlemen, when we pray, we pray tremendously. When you pray, you can see things that you do not know. I do things I can't do In fact, it is the help of the Holy Spirit. When you pray, you are diligent in devotion. “When I am called, the spiral will go anywhere in my body.” But when I open my eyes, I don’t go at all. I will die. I will obey. When I open my eyes, I don't do anything. So please just close your eyes and buy it. Everyone gets weird when they open their eyes. Here is the real picture of our religious life. I'm just praying because I'm anxious. It's not that they lack prayer, it's that they don't have faith. I don't believe it at the crucial moment. At the decisive moment, I believe in money. I believe in human knowledge at the decisive moment. I don't believe in God. Jesus said this in Matthew 6:5-8. ‘Do not pray hypocrisy to be seen by others. Do not pray with untruthful babbles and babbles.” (Matthew 6:6) When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
How eagerly did the early church members expect Peter to come out when he went to prison, but their problem was that they did not expect God to respond so quickly. Dear saints, Why are our prayers unanswered at times Why do we have to wait so long We go through boring and painful times. Everyone, it seems that Abraham heard the voice of God a lot, but when we connect the sequence of Genesis, he didn't hear much. I heard it after 10 years, and this is how I heard it. Called at age 75 and had a child at age 100. So, how many times in 20 years? It's not something I listen to every day. He holds on to one word and lives for 10 years. That's faith. go right go left This is not how God leads. God, what should I do, spit and tap! no.
Please pray wherever you are, wherever you are.
Here you see a girl named Rhoda. You can't tell how happy I was when I went to open the door. I even forgot to open the door. “Hey, God answers prayers so quickly.” You would have thought so. That's right. The woman who had similarly discovered the joy she had found is the woman of Sychar in John 4. This woman, who had never found the meaning of life at all, found Jesus. “You are the Messiah.” The woman put her water jar down and put it down. What did she come to do? The woman came to draw water. I left my water jar and ran into the neighborhood. How happy that woman was when she went into a town that hated her and said, “I have met the Messiah.”
This is what the gospel is. We will have to restore this joy of a woman named Rhoda and the joy of a woman named Sugaseong.
Prayer: Give me the joy of meeting Jesus. Help us to believe what we prayed for.