Part III: You Can’t Get That Until You Pass Thru This

Posted on August 25, 2023 by growintheword

Synopsis of August 20, 2023

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker

Psalm 84:5-7 NKJV 
Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, 
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage. 
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, 
They make it a spring; 
The rain also covers it with pools. 
7 They go from strength to strength; 
Each one appears before God in Zion.

  1. INTRODUCTION 
  2. It should be your desire to be close to God. We believe you are reading this right now, because you are pursuing a relationship with God. We must know, however, that a relationship with God, comes with a cost. Matt 6:33 NKJV says “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
  3. We need stuff from God, but he doesn’t need stuff from us. That thing you need from God only comes when you submit to his process.
  4. It is natural for us to resist the process. We want to go straight to the blessing. Even though it’s not pleasant, you have to pass through whatever God orchestrates for your life.
  5. This text today is a Pilgrimage Psalm which means it was a song. The people were passing through Jerusalem while singing this song. This would give them comfort as they passed through Baca, also called the Place of Tears.
  6. When you focus on the Promise, you are not swayed by the Problem. When you are focused on what you are going to, you won’t focus on what you’re going through. Many of us want the Degree, but we don’t want to pass through Baca to get it. Everyone has a Baca to deal with!
  7. We must realize that tears are part of the journey.
    1. History: Baca is only mentioned once in bible and it is translated as weeping. Psalms 84:5 says “Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.” – The journey was interesting. You had weeping in one hand and refreshing springs in the other.
    1. There were trees in Baca were weeping like mulberry trees. You really only see these mulberry trees mentioned in one other place in the bible. II Samuel 5:22–25 NKJV says, “Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. Therefore David inquired of the Lord, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.”
    1. In the Psalmist’ days, Pilgrims passed through this waterless valley with weeping trees. In the scripture they had to go through this condition to get where they were trying to go. The weeping that happens along the journey in Baca is symbolic of the tears that you shed on your journey.
  8. Really see yourself in this. The people were passionate about their destination. They were so determined to get there; they were willing to get there by any means necessary.
  1. GOD GIVES POWER FOR THE PILGRIMAGE 
  2. Blessed are those who’s strength is in God. You have to know that what you go after is going to have to take strength.
  3. God knows the:
  1. Length of the Trip – God knows what it will take to get to where you are going.
  2. Limitations Of the Travelers – He knows how long it will take and how much you can bear.
  3. I must:
    1. Begin with the End In Sight 
    1. You Cannot Do This Without Him 
  4. Before getting there, they are locked in on the journey. When you are in pursuit of your destiny, you are locked into what you are after. Luke 14:28 NKJV says “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—”- This means you actually thought through this. You didn’t’ just set out on the journey.
  5. You can’t do this without Him. When you rely on God, you have learned that you can’t do this without Him.
  6. God reveals himself to you on the way.
    1. You have to:
  7. Actively Submit. – You have to surrender totally to God.
  8. Accept His Sovereignty. – God doesn’t owe us an explanation.
  9. Acknowledge His Spirit. – It is the Power of God that will get us through.
    1. It doesn’t matter what you have, people don’t realize that your strength comes from the Lord.
  10. You have to go through on God’s strength.
  11. You will pass through the pain. – There is no promise without pain. You can’t get around this. Baca is the go between from what you are going to and what you going through.
  1. YOU WILL PASS THRU THE PAIN 
  2. You Can’t Get Around This 
  3. Accept What God Allows 
  4. Assess Who Will Accompany You 
  5. Approach It to Achieve It – I won’t step to it, unless I believe I can do it.
  6. Make Sure Your Tears Have Term Limits 
    1. You must let your tears work for you. They should help you release the hurt. Every tear we cry has a story. Psalms 56:8 says “You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?” -Everyone has tears. As you age, your tears may get less, but they don’t run out.
    1. The thing about the valley is, it is not meant for you to be there forever. You are just passing through.
    1. Don’t let the residue from Baca, follow you into Jerusalem. Phil 3:13-14 says “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Psalm 30:5 KJV says For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
  1. YOU MUST BE POSITIVE AND PRODUCTIVE 
  2. You have to pull self together, wipe your eyes, and move. You have to resist being negative and despondent.
  3. You have to declare:
  1. There Is Something Good in Every Situation 
  2. No matter how bad it looks, you need to realize there is something in this situation. For example, if it wasn’t for the layoff, I wouldn’t have to become an entrepreneur.
  3. Baca is a valley of weeping. Although it is a valley of weeping, we still can benefit from the experience.
  4. Don’t Just Cry, Create 
  5. They made a Well. This was a dry place and it only had weeping trees. You can’t live without water!
  6. They decided to make a Well. One reason for passing through Baca is to raise up the Engineer inside of you. They dug a well. That thing that God started in you he will perform until the end of time.
  7. Dig a well!
  • GOD WILL GIVE YOU PROVISION TO KEEP YOU FROM PERISHING 
  • When they dug the well, God sent the rain and allowed the rain to fill the pool. When you do what you can do, God will do what you can’t do. He will make sure you get something out of the journey!
  1. If You Maximize the Opportunity, God Will Give You Overflow 
  2. Opportunities come in many forms. Because of these many forms, sometimes we overlook them.
  3. If you do all you can do, like digging the well, God will release blessings in your life.
  4. Some of us think God will do things for us without us putting in the work.
  5. We have to:
  6. Put In the Work – You got to dig your well, work your plan, and work your vision.
  7. Prepare The Well – In the scripture, they were specific about what they were digging. They weren’t just digging holes; they were digging Wells. You can’t be just working. You have to be working on your Well. Who digs a well in a dry place? Those that can patiently wait on God.
  8. Patiently Wait – We believe that God will do what he says he will do. We believe that if we act, God will act. Luke 6:38 NKJV says “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.””
    1. When we read this text and compare in modern day times, we have a hard time interpreting without knowing some background.
    1. In the bible times, they worked the land and then they would pray for rain. The rain would usher in the harvest. Drought for them was like a recession is for us. You work, you plan, and you know that God will supply all of your needs.
    1. Bishop prophesies, “You are about to reap double. God is about to fill your pools”! – Turn to the one next to you and say, “I feel the rain filling up the places of drought”.
  9. In the scripture, they set out on a pilgrimage, to go to Mt Zion in Jerusalem. They knew the only way to get there is to rely on history. They knew it was going to be painful. They knew it wasn’t going to be easy. They decided to build something while they were in their situation. They knew when they did something, God would do what they couldn’t do. If you haven’t dug anything, then the rain won’t mean anything to you.
  10. When the rain comes, instantly they go from strength to strength. They had one strength when they left. It was God’s strength which is spiritual strength.
  11. When I worked my plan, the natural man was tired, so God gave me water to give me another strength. This was natural strength. God don’t just bless in heaven. He blesses down here too.
  12. The Bible says they all appeared in Zion.
  • You Will Survive and Make It to Your Destination 
    • I Got Stronger – Every one of them appeared in Zion. You prayed, you cried, you prayed, and you cried, but in the end, you knew you were going to make it.
    • Through the Baca experience, you’ve gotten stronger.
    • What I Saw – You ought to thank God for what you saw God do in Baca. He brought the rain. He made a way out of no way!
    • I Survived – Another thing we think God for is, we survived!  Not only was I going to make it, everything attached to me is going to make it through Baca too!
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Part II: Oh No to ONO

Posted on August 18, 2023 by growintheword

August 13, 2023 Synopsis

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker

Nehemiah 6:1-4 NKJV 
Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), 2 that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they thought to do me harm. 
3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” 
4 But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner.

  1. INTRODUCTION 
  2. When you are progressive and obedient to God, you understand the power of decisions. You also learn that everyone doesn’t mean you good. Not every invitation is a good invitation. Everyone doesn’t mean you good.
  3. As you work your Vision, know that there will be forces that try to impede your progress.
  4. Nehemiah is rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem and his success has revealed the insecurities of his haters. They want Nehemiah to come down and leave his work. They wanted to meet him in the plain of Ono. They secretly inspired to do him harm. 
  5. Nehemiah, was so locked to his work, he said no to Ono. Ono can be a person, place, or thing. Ono is that thing that tries to lure you away from the work that God has assigned you to do.
  6. Today we want to proclaim there comes a moment that we say “no” on Uno. We are not focused on the devil. We are working on our assignment or our plan. Know that everyday you wake up, there will be invitations to Ono.
  7. Nehemiah has so many enemies, we couldn’t’ name them all in this text if we tried.
  8. Nehemiah has built this wall. There were no breaches in the wall. Then, the enemy loved to come attack through the breaches of a wall. The gate on the front wall had not been hung yet. Historically, the enemy knew not to go through this door, because there would be guards there. This is why the enemy would use the breaches. Since the breaches were closed, this took away the enemy’s opportunity to attack.
  9. The enemy says, “Since we can’t go in, let’s see who we can get to come out”. 1. When they sent messages to Nehemiah, he was rebuilding the wall.
  10. If you were to google Ono, you would see that Ono is a real place even today. If you would check the distance, you would see that it would take Nehemiah around 13hrs to travel from the wall to Ono. Also, while trying to go there, there was a possibility that he could be attacked on the way or people could invade the wall while he was gone.
  11. The bible gives us examples of things that have happened while the Leader was gone.
    1. David was absent from his camp in Ziglag, then the enemy came in and kidnapped the women and children.
    1. When Adam was absent from the Garden, Satan came in and tempted Eve.
    1. Mark 3:27 KJV says 27 No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. – The enemy looks for an opportunity to attack in the absence of the strongman.
  12. Nehemiah building the wall is not just brick and mortar. To rebuild the wall, he had to pray. It wasn’t just about building the wall; it was also about the restoration of the people. It was a symbol that they were on their way back as God promised. Right when you are about to bring things together, this will be the time you will be attacked. The enemy tries to prevent your blessing from coming to pass.
  1. THEY RECOGNIZE THE FULL SCOPE OF YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS 
  2. The enemy attacks you because he realizes how extraordinary you are as a Leader.
  3. The predecessor traumatized the people in the text. They took their land and taxed them unjustly. Nehemiah decided he was going to help God’s people.
  4. While building the wall, Nehemiah realized that God wanted the people to be blessed. Know that your assignment is not just for you. Your assignment is always for somebody else.
  5. Nehemiah was so effective as a Builder, he built it in 52 days. People try to knock you off your assignment, because they realize your anointing.
  6. There is no way you can do your assignment without being a person of prayer.
  7. Nehemiah understood this. The only way we can do our assignment is by:
  8. Talk In the Street – We use this as free advertising of what we are doing.
  9. Trappings of Success – Whenever you are good at what you do; you have to remain humble. Remember that God can do this without you.
  10. Target of Satan – Being a target just comes with the assignment. Every day you wake up, Satan has you in his bullseye.
  11. Just Because They Didn’t Comment Doesn’t Mean They Are Not Watching 
  12. You have to stay focused on what God called you to do. Just because the enemy doesn’t comment on your Post, doesn’t mean they aren’t watching everything you do.
  13. They Can’t Deny Your Skill to Rebuild 
  14. The enemy has to acknowledge what you are doing. They had to admire what Nehemiah did. He built the wall in 52 days, which hadn’t been done before.
  1. YOU MUST REALIZE YOUR FOES AGENDA 
  2. Why is the enemy so focused on your right now? This is why John 10:10 NKJV says “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
  3. They Want You to Come Down to Their Level 
  4. Nehemiah didn’t want to leave his assignment. How many times were you lured down from your assignment? Stay above it! Nehemiah chose to stay on the wall.
  5. They Want to Harm and Hinder You 
  6. The enemy wanted Nehemiah to come down, because they wanted to cause him some harm. If you win, you will have an impact on Satan’s agendas.
  7. You must stay focused on what God told you to do. Most of the drama we experience in life, happened in Ono. God is about to heal you and bring you out of your Ono.
  1. YOU MUST REMAIN FOCUSED ON YOUR ASSIGNMENT 
  2. What is it that God told you to do?
  3. Nehemiah understood the weight of his assignment.
  4. Some Things You Need to Delegate 
  5. Sometimes you have to send the message and not the Main Messenger. Nehemiah sent a message by someone else, telling them the enemy that he could not leave his work and come down from the wall.
  6. My Assignment Is Too Big to Accommodate Small Minded People 
  7. When you dream big, you don’t have the time to be with people that don’t want anything.
  8. You can’t even share your Visions with everyone. Some people can’t handle where you’re going.
  9. You are reading this today, because God wanted you to be around people that wants big stuff. When you think outside the box, there is nothing that will cause you to miss what God has for you in this season.
  • I REFUSE TO FALL FOR THEIR APPEALS 
  1. As Long as You Are Achieving, The Enemy Will Keep Trying 
  2. The Bible says, they kept trying. Before this time next week, you will have at least 3-5 invitations to Ono. Regardless to the invitations we get, we must realize that we don’t have the energy to fool with anything that is going to pull us away from our assignment.
  3. We are not going to turn away from what God has assigned us to do.
  4. Some of you have too much openness to people in Ono. Your almost done, don’t give up your assignment just to go to Ono.
  5. The walls of Jerusalem had been torn down, but God promised to restore them. Nehemiah asked if he could build the wall and God allowed him to do so.
  6. Nehemiah is gives instructions as how to build the wall.
    1. Be Consistent – You have to stay with it
    1. Be Creative – You have to be willing to do what hasn’t been done before. Nehemiah built the wall in record time.
    1. Be Cunning – You have to be wise enough to know what the enemy is up to and cunning enough to know that you need to close up the breaks in the wall.
  • Get Used to This Level 
  • Get used to the level of the wall.
  • We are at a new level. We are pressing towards the mark of the high calling.
  • Consider this:
    • Have you ever watched the moving map of a flight? On longer flights, the height changes many times.
    • There is a difference between Height and Altitude.
  • Height is vertical distance of an object from the ground.
  • Altitude is based off above the sea level. It is influenced by air pressure.
    • How does a plane fly? Most pilots like to fly as high as the plane can go. The higher that plan flies, the less fuel it burns, because there is less pull on the plane. In like manner, the higher you stay, the less stress you encounter.
    • When you fly, you experience turbulence. Lift makes you fly. This is influenced by air, not the engines. When you go to a higher altitude, the air gets thin.
    • How then do you decrease lift? Increasing the altitude will decrease the lift.  The airplane then is in competition with the lift.
    • If the thrust decreases and airspeed decreases, the lift will become less than weight, and the aircraft will start to descend, so to go higher, the plane must be lighter. We must then decrease the weight.
      • Don’t this sound familiar? The Bible says to lay aside every weight that so easily besets us.
      • We can’t get our lift, because we have too much weight! Nehemiah can’t come down, because he has gotten used to this level(lift) that he is on! He won’t come down from the wall just to go to Ono. We have to be like Nehemiah and say no to Ono!
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Part I: You’re Not In This By Yourself

Posted on August 11, 2023 by growintheword

Synopsis of 8/6/23

Delivered Bishop Joseph W. Walker

Psalm 23:4 NKJV 
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; 
For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

  1. INTRODUCTION 
  2. As a Believer, there is one thing we know is about isolation. During isolation is when the enemy likes to create integration. During integration, the enemy tries to make us think that we are going through our issues by ourselves and that God doesn’t care.
  3. All of us know there are valleys and moments that we go through, where we wonder if God is there. You will learn that God was always there, but we had to go through what we went through for training purposes.
  4. Many of us have experienced loss in attacks. God will remind you that he is there, but he will also show you a plan that shows you that you won’t be there much longer.
  5. Valleys are spiritual and can be disorienting. As a testimony to this, David writes this Psalm during a Valley Experience.
    1. David’s family is far from perfect. His own son Asylum has plotted to kill him. It was around 1000BC when David discovers this. David pins this Psalm during this particular time.
    1. The first three words of this Psalm is the answer to every problem in life. They are, ” The Lord is…”
    1. In this text, David gives us things he learned while in the Valley. You have to get training while you are in the Valleys of Life.
  1. THE PACE OF THE VALLEY 
  2. Pace is about timing.  David is not running through the Valley. Instead, he is walking through this.
  3. The Shepherd realizes the sheep has to obey him in order to survive.
  4. God leads the Shepherd to know what pace the sheep keep, to get out of their situation.
  1. We All Get a Turn 
  2. Some of us are only one phone call away from having our own Valley Experience.
  3. Types of Turns:
    1. Alternative Turns – This is when one person comes out, the next person goes through. This simply means that as soon as one comes out of the Valley, a friend goes right into a Valley Experience.
    1. Simultaneously turns – This is when many people are going through their Valley experience at the same time.
    1. Exclusive Turns – This is when no one is going through a Valley Experience, but you.
  • Things to know about the Valley Experience:
  • Expect The Valley – All successful people will tell you they didn’t get where they are without having a Valley Experience.
  • Have Empathy for Those in The Valley – Because you know what the Valley Experience is like, you should have empathy for others that are going through it.
  • Have Expectation in The Valley – We expect something to happen when we go through the Valley Experience.
  • You Can’t Rush Through This 
  • David says he walked through the Valley of the shadow of death… Sometimes God has to make you pause and deal with the issue at hand.
  • Grieve – It’s ok to go through the stages of grief while you are in the Valley.
  • Graze – Don’t grieve without grazing. The best water and the best grass is in the Valley. Just like the grass in the Valley, you don’t realize how good the word is, until you get in a Valley.
  • Grow – This is how you grow. The sheep become fit enough to make the journey, because the best grass and the best water is in the Valley. Look at how strong your prayer life has gotten, as a result of your time in the Valley.
  • THE PROCESS OF THE VALLEY 
  • It’s Designed for Your Development – The Valley is designed for the sheep’s development. Like the sheep, this means that our Valley was designed for our development.
  • Don’t Get Stuck in What God Wants You to Come Thru – The Valley isn’t designed to be a permanent place. The devil tries to trick you into thinking this is permanent.
    • Sooner or later, it is going to turn in your favor. In fact, don’t accept mail while you are in the Valley, because time the mail gets there, you will be gone.
    • Story: There was a guy that was talking to his Pastor about a bad report he got from his Doctor. Just as he said this, they Pastor yelled, “Hallelujah!”. Next he told his Pastor that things were not going good on his job and he was afraid that he might lose it. Right then, his Pastor said, “Glory”! Finally, he told his Pastor that things weren’t going good with his wife, and then his Pastor said, “Thank you Jesus”!
      • So now the guy was mad and he asked his Pastor why he would be celebrating and thanking God for all the bad things he told his Pastor that he was going through? His Pastor then asked, “You did say you are going through it, didn’t you?” In other words, he wasn’t going to be there always. Even though you are going through it, doesn’t mean you will get stuck there always.
  1. THE PRESENCE OF THE VALLEY 
  2. There is no shadow without light. You don’t get shadows in dark places. Shadows are a result of light.
  3. Don’t Be Afraid of What the Enemy Shows You – The enemy will have you about to lose your mind.
  4. Story: Remember, the Coyote and Road Runner on the Looney Tunes Cartoon? The Coyote would always set these elaborate traps built by the Acme Company. No matter how well the trap was set, the Road Runner would escape it. Whenever the Coyote would inspect the trap to see why it didn’t work, then he would fall victim to the very trap that he set for the Road Runner and then the Road Runner would come to him and say, “Beep Beep”.  When the enemy sets a trap for you, focus on the escape the Lord has for you!  
  5. Presences in the Valley
    1. Wolves- Wolves know how to talk churchy. They know how to quote scripture and everything. They lure you into getting close enough for them to pounce on you.
    1. Wild dogs – Wild Dogs make sounds to confuse the sheep and cause them to scatter. Then when they are away from the heard, they are able to attack them.
  6. Remember Your God Is with You – God is right there, no matter what you are going through.
  7. The Hebrew word for Shepherd is also used for close friend. God is Shepherding you through our Valley.
  • THE PROVISION IN THE VALLEY 
  • It is about what God shows up with in the Valley. His Rod and His staff comforts us…
  • I’m Thankful for His Correction – The Rod was needed for the Shepherd. The Rod was for correction. Sheep are often unruly. The Shepherd would use the Rod, to cause sheep to get back where they were supposed to be.
    • Every day, the Shepherd will count the sheep. Can God correct you and still count on you? Can he count you, count on you, and then make you accountable?
    • The Staff was the curved part of the Rod and Staff. We always want to see if the grass is greener on the other side. The Shepherd uses the curved part to pull you back where you are supposed to be.
  • Thank God that in this Season, God kept us from ourselves. God kept us…
  • When you go through the Valley, then you can say that God prepares a table for me in the presence of mine enemy.
  • I’m Thankful for His Direction –
  • 4 reasons to give God glory when we come out.
    • Anyhow Blessings – He blesses me regardless to what others think.
    • The Anointing That Blocks – Because of the sheepskin fur, flies were the most irritant to the sheep. It would cause sheep to lose pace and purpose. The Shepherd would put oil (representative of anointing) on their head as a deterrent for the flies.
    • Abundance Has Become Our New Baseline – There was a time, before the Valley where our cup was empty. Coming from what we have gone through, we show up full. This is now our New Baseline.
    • The Assurance He Has My Back- God was not only leading me from the front, He had my back too. Goodness and Mercy follows me all the days of my life!
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PART III: GOD’S GOING TO GET YOU OUT OF THIS

Posted on August 4, 2023 by growintheword

Sermon Synopsis 7/16/23

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Acts 12:1-16 NKJV 
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.

  1. INTRODUCTION 
    1. It is important to know God specializes in snatching us out of the hands of the enemy. If you will remember, God rescued Daniel from the Lion’s Den and Paul and Silas were delivered at midnight from a jail cell.
    1. What we go through doesn’t catch God by surprise. God has made plans for your exit, even before you got into your situation. God has more power than whatever is after you. In your mind, maybe the time clock is ticking, and you think God should step in by a certain time, but know that God doesn’t act when you think He should. God has a plan whereby you will come out better than you were.
    1. Know that what God has done before; He can do it again.
    1. In the text, God delivered Peter out of his jail situation.
      1. In Acts 1, the promise of the Holy Ghost is given. In Acts 2, we see the presence of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 3, we see the power of the Holy Spirit.
      1. Being a Christian in early Century was problematic. In Acts 4, the church grows by leaps and bounds. In Acts 6, a man named Stephen has created a stir among the town concerning God’s people. In Acts 7, Stephen is being stoned and while being stoned, he gave praises to God. Scripture says being full of the Holy Spirit, he was able to gaze into heaven and see Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
      1. Now in Acts 8, Christian’s are being targeted for persecution. People have to hide in order to worship. In Acts 9, the chief persecutor of Believers becomes a mouthpiece for God. Saul becomes Paul.
      1. In Acts 10, Peter says that food that they were historically not allowed to eat was now ok to eat. In Acts 11, the Gospel Jesus has preached tells the Gentiles that they now have a place in the Kingdom, just like the Jews. Now Jesus has declared that he has come not only to preach to Jews but also the Gentiles.
    1. Now we get to where the text is. A certain sect of people was so upset, they go after Peter. Peter was the self-proclaimed Leader of the Disciples. They arrest Peter and now he is on death row. They won’t kill him until after the Passover, so they hold him in jail. Peter is on death row, scheduled to die the next day. Meanwhile, the Church is praying for him over at Mary’s house.
  1. THE PLOT OF YOUR ADVERSARY 
  2. There was a plot and scheme against Believers during the time this scripture takes place.
  3. Something you must know is:
  1. The Enemy Is Intimidated by Your Anointing 
  2. When the hand of God is on your life, it will trigger great adversary attacks. This should help you understand why you get attacked so much.
    1. The Enemy Wants to Take You Out 
  3. The enemy wants to take you out because of your influence. God’s plans are greater than the enemy’s plan to take you out.
  4. Peter is on death row. If he is on death row and dying the next day, shouldn’t he be nervous? Instead of being nervous or worrying about what is to come, Peter is asleep.
  1. YOU NEED PEOPLE WHO ADVOCATE TO BE IN AGREEMENT 
  2. People that are rooting for you need to be together. The scripture says that the people from the Church was all over to Mary’s house, praying for Peter.
  1. Culture Will Cancel You, But the Church Will Pray for You 
  2. You need people around you that can pray.
  3. Even though you think people have wrote you off, you have to know that this doesn’t mean that God’s plans for you has been canceled.
  4. Herod and the rest of the culture was trying to make personal examples of Christians. They tried to humiliate Christians as well as torture them. This is why they would rip their clothes off during torture and executions.
  5. The Bible says be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. When culture comes down on us, God has a church that is praying for us.
  6. Lots of people give up on the Church, but the Church never gives up on us. The Church was trying to pray Peter through. Just like Peter, somebody prayed for us! While we were yet stuck in our sins, somebody prayed for us and God saved us!
  • Agreement Makes Your Prayers Avail 
  • When we touch and agree, the bible says that God will be in our midst.
  • Types of Prayers:
  • Focused – This is praying for what you were asked to pray for or praying for a specific thing. An example of this was the church praying for Peter while he was on death row.
  • Fervent – This is praying, believing that prayer will change things. In the scripture, the Church believed that when they prayed, something would happen. Why pray when you don’t think it will happen?
  • Faithful – These are people that will stay praying until something happens, even if it takes all night. In the scripture, the Church was willing to stay up all night long praying. They had the attitude of, “We are going to stay until we get what we came for”. Sometimes you have to stay on your knees until you get what you need.
  • Sometimes you have to abide in God’s presence.
  1. THERE IS A PROVIDENTIAL WORK OF ANGELS 
  2. While they were praying, God was moving. God was dispatching angels on their behalf.
    1. God’s Got Angels for Specific Assignments 
  3. Angels have two responsibilities. They are to:
  4. Glorify God in Heaven.
  5. Take assignments from God to the earth.
  6. Types of Angels
  7. Cherbuims were guardian angels.
  8. Seraphim is a worshipping angel. They have 6 wings. An example of this can be found in Isiah 6: 2 –3 2Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”
  9. Living creatures – An example of these can be found in Rev 4:6-8 6Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. 7The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”  
  10. Some of you have experienced angelic intervention and didn’t even realize it. The Bible says many of us have entertained angels unaware.
  11. Lots of things were prevented because angels were watching over you.
  12. Peter is asleep between 4 squads of soldiers. An angel will deliver him without the soldiers even knowing it, but how?
  13. Illumination – God will bring your out of darkness. The Angel led Peter out of his jail cell.
  14. Motivation – God will wake you out of your sleep. Peter was asleep when the Angel first came to him.
  15. Declaration – Once you get up. God gives a command. The Angel didn’t tell Peter what to do, until he got up.
  16. Information – He is not going to give directions to you while you’re still lying in your situation. The Angel told Peter to put his clothes back on.
  17. Liberation – Clothes is on! Peter is walking past the soldiers, God has the soldiers in a trance, and the gates open on their own. As long as you are walking, God will continue to open gates and doors for you!
  18. He Not Only Gets You Out of Prison, But Off the Property 
  19. God won’t only get you out of debt, he will eliminate that which got you into debt.
  20. Peter went to where the Church had gathered to pray for him.
  • YOUR PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED 
  • While You Were Praying, God Was Moving 
  • While the Church was at Mary’s house praying, Peter knocked on the door. What they were praying for had arrived. Rhoda answered the door and she tried to tell them, but they did not believe her at first.
  • It’s Going to Show Up Before You Get Off Your Knees 
  • Before you get off your knees, your breakthrough is going to show up! You need to give God glory before you get off your knees!  
  • Story: Bishop has a Ring doorbell. With this doorbell, you can tell someone’s approaching your house, by the chime that it gives off. Bishop’s kids run to the door, because they hear the chime. They make it to the door, before the people that are coming even rang the doorbell, because the chime told them someone was approaching.
    • We ought to be ready to run to the door, because we’ve prayed and we know that God is on his way!
  • You ought to live knowing:
    • You Are Going to See God’s Ability 
    • This Is the Season to Access 
    • What God Is About to Show You Will Be Astonishing 
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