Part 5: You’ve Got A Package At The Door 
Synopsis of 9/29/24
Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III 

Acts 12:1-16 
1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. 2 Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3 And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. 4 So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. 5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. 6 And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. 7 Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” 9 So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. 11 And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.” 12 So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. 13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. 15 But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel.” 16 Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.
I.	INTRODUCTION
A.	One of the things you will discover about God is he specializes in deliverance. Deliverance by itself is not the true blessing. The true blessing is in how God does it. 
B.	God always has a way of showing up and showing out no matter how bad things are. God brings us out at the right time. The old saints would say, he might not come when you want him to, but he’s always on time. 
C.	In this series, we have been talking about doors and destiny. Today take your spiritual antennas up a little higher. We are going a little deeper.
D.	Some of the players in the sermon today are Peter the apostle, James the brother of John, some of the early church martyrs, and Herod Agrippa I. This sermon also focuses on people who understood the power of prayer. 
E.	Around 40 or 41AD, Herod Agrippa I was Roman appointed by the Emperor. He was made king of Judah.  
F.	The Jesus crowd was getting bigger, because Jesus had risen. The religious leaders wanted to put a stop this movement. 
G.	Who was Herod Agrippa I?  He is one part of a family dynasty that ruled Judah under the backing of Rome. 
1.	Herod the Great was his grandfather. This Herod (the grandfather) was the one that wanted to kill Jesus when he was born. He was the Herod that tried to get the Wise Men to tell him where the baby Jesus was, so he could kill him. 
2.	Herod Agrippa I was known for wanting to gain favor of the Jewish Council. 
H.	Jewish Council:
1.	Among them were the Sanhedrin. In the Jewish culture, this was the highest governing council. They were in charge of judicial and political matters. This is how we get the concept of Council today. 
2.	Among them that sat on the council were:
a.	The Chief Priest. 
b.	The Elders from the community.
c.	The Scribes, who were experts on Jewish Law which was found in the Torah. 
3.	The Sanhedrin had 71 members on this Council. The 71st was the High Priest, like a President. 
4.	The Pharisees – They were observers to the law. They were great interpreters of what the Law actually said.
5.	The Sadducees – They were aristocrats of those who went by what was written in the Law. 
I.	It is important to understand that the Jewish Community really believed in trials to seal one’s fate. For example, when they arrested Jesus, they didn’t have a quorum, so they didn’t have enough people there for it to be legit. Jesus’ charge was he said he was the Messiah and for some reason, they couldn’t get all the Sanhedrin together. This is why we it was called a kangaroo court. 
J.	Acts 12:2 says that Herod Agrippa I had already killed James and now has Peter. This was the one that Jesus left in charge of the Disciples, so Herod was excited that he has now captured Peter. He knew that if he killed Peter, he could apprehend the Jesus movement. He decided to wait until after the Passover to kill Peter. 
K.	They took Peter to the inner part of the prison. In this hole, Peter is being guarded by a quadrant of soldiers which is 4. Peter is not guarded by just one quadrant; he is guarded by 4 quadrants of soldiers. What are they so afraid of? 
L.	In addition, two soldiers were chained to Peter, so any movement made by Peter would be known. 
M.	Peter is supposed to die the next day after the Passover. Peter is on death row, and he is sleep. What does Peter know that makes him able to sleep and not be worried? 
N.	While Peter is in prison, the Church is at Mary’s house, praying for Peter’s wellbeing and his release. They wanted him to get a breakthrough. No matter how bad your situation is, God will not only deliver your package, He we deliver it to your door. 
O.	Peter represents that thing the enemy has tied up. Just like Peter, we have areas in our lives that are bound. If you don’t have anything tied up, just keep living. 
P.	Herod Agrippa I was after certain believers, not all believers. If you are not intimidating to the enemy, then he is not concerned by you 
Q.	Herod has already killed James and now he has Peter. What is it about Peter that has the enemy wanting to get to him? What is it about you that makes the enemy want to skip everyone to get to you?
R.	The church was at Mary’s house. You might think you have your crew, but know that your real crew will pray for you when times get tough.
II.	WE’VE ALL GOT A PROBLEM THAT’S TIED UP
A.	The Enemy Is Only After Legitimate Threats
1.	The enemy is only after those anointed by God. Know that this comes with the territory. 
2.	If you are anointed, know that you will always be a target. 
a.	Those that advocate for the gospel. 
i.	No body wants to share anything but bad news. When you tell people that you don’t have to be on the bottom or that they should be the borrower and not the lender, the enemy will try to silence you. 
b.	Those who have the ability to stir up the gifts of others. 
3. Peter is on death row and in the third part of the prison. Peter is on death row. It looks bad right now. 


B.	It May Look Bad But Remember God Has A Plan
1.	Peter has work to do and will not die in that jail cell, because he still has work to do. Know that you will not die right here. 
2.	You can’t die as long as God still has work for you to do. You have to keep yourself from being anxious. 
III.	IT’S GOOD TO HAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE PRAYED UP
A.	Trouble Reveals Your Tribe
1.	It’s good to have people in your life who are prayed up.
2.	You have to do life in the community. The enemy will put you in isolation, so that he can interrogate you. 
3.	Say what you want about church. We are not perfect, but if you find yourself in ICU, it won’t be the people that you kick it with, that will be praying for you. It will be somebody from the Church. You need a full community to cover you.
4.	The people of God were praying for Peter. 
B.	Intercession Interrupts The Plan Of The Enemy
1.	When you hear the word intercession, think about the words interrupted or interception. 
a.	For example, the football team looks like they are about to score, but then someone out of nowhere intercepts it. The point is, it looked like it was going one way, but it ended up going another. 
b.	Imagine a large company, under attack from a cyber threat. It’s like a Hacker trying to steal valuable data. If left unattended, it could lead to a big loss. There is a cyber team, constantly monitoring the network. Their job is to attack and disrupt any attack from succeeding. To do this, they set up countermeasures from achieving their plans. 
i.	They don’t wait on the company. Cyber Teams don’t wait to get permission from the company. They attack immediately and block the attack! Intercessors are like security teams. They stand in the gap to protect the believers. They step in and block that thing that is trying to attack the believer, and the believer might not even realize that they are under attack. 
2.	We have to protect our intercessors. Grandmother was somewhat like a intercessor for some of us. She could tell when something was going on with our lives. She could tell when someone wasn’t right for you and she could tell when you were going through something, because they interceded for us. 
3.	Intercessors are fervently praying. Intercessors block the plan of the enemy. Real intercession can invoke Devine Intervention that disrupts the plan of the enemy. Everyone can’t pray like this. 
4.	Intercessors can get heavens attention and cause things to happen, because they prayed.
IV.	NO MATTER WHAT DON’T GIVE UP
•	The Church were interceding and praying for Peter. Intercessors are selfless. They forsake their own prayers to pray for you. 
•	Weeping endures for the night, but know that joy comes in the morning
A.	God’s Got Angels Protecting You
1.	Intercessions will show you that angels will protect you. Everyone doesn’t have the ability to call angels. We were created a little lower than the angels according to the scriptures. 
2.	Because we pray to the Father through the Son, Jesus serves as an Intercessor for us. 
3.	Peter has been imprisoned by a man name Herod Agrippa I. he has already killed James, the brother of John. He wants to impress the Sanhedrin Council. Peter is being guarded by 4 quadrants of solders and there are two chained to him.
4.	The Church was interceding on Peter’s behalf. They were trying to invoke an interruption against Peters fate.
5.	Through their intercessions, they invoked an angel and the bible says an angel of God goes into the jail cell with Peter. There was a light shinning in the prison and the angel appeared and tapped Peter to wake him up. 
6.	With a soldier at every gate, and 4 quads around him, and two chained to him, how come no one saw the light or heard anything when Peter was leaving? When God gets ready to get you, you will be out of it, before the enemy gets the memo
B.	Get Up, Get Your Stuff—You’re Coming Out Of This
1.	The chains are not going to come off, unless you stand up.
2.	Peter stood up, but he was chained to a guard. He stood up, the chains fell off, and the guard didn’t even know. 
3.	The angel told him to put his clothes on and his sandals. 
a.	When they arrested you, they would strip you. The angel wasn’t going to let him leave without his stuff. 
4.	Peter doesn’t know if he is awake or if he asleep when he interacts with the angel. Peter is in the third part of the jail. 
5.	Peter walks out with the angel. He walks through the gates. When Peter came in, many were locking doors. God opened the doors for him to come out. Just like Peter, I see doors opening for you!
6.	There is a guard at the door and the guard doesn’t even see him. 
V.	WHAT YOU PRAYED FOR HAS ALREADY SHOWN UP
A.	God Will Not Only Get You Out Of It, But On The Other Side Of It
1.	The angel walked with Peter while he was on the enemy’s territory, but when he got to the other side, the angel was gone. 
2.	What will Peter do now that he’s out? Peter decided to go to Church, the people that prayed him out of this. You don’t start your week without showing up in Gods house! 
B.	Answer The Door
1.	The answer to the Churches prayer, is at the door. While they are praying, a knock hits the door. 
a.	You got to believe that before you get off your knees, God can get you what you’ve been praying for. 
2.	There was a servant named Rhoda that answered the door. She said to the Church, “what we’ve been praying for is at the door”, but they didn’t believe her. 
3.	We think revelation comes to those who have titles. This time it came to the servant. If you serve God in this season, God will give you a revelation that something is about to happen.
4.	Your breakthrough is at the door, your wholeness is at the door, your spouse is at the door, everything you need to do is at the door! 
5.	Give God glory, before it happens! You’ve been asking the Lord to do it for you! 
6.	The devil should have killed you while he had you. Remind everyone that you are still alive. 
7.	Give God glory for what he is about to do. You‘ve got to get the door!!