12/19/2023 – The Children of God Always Enjoy Freedom
Acts 12: 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.
It has been said that there are no guarantees in life. But I can guarantee this: the children of God will fulfill God’s purpose for their lives. There is no person, no circumstance that can hold you back or keep you from it.
King Herod represented the most powerful empire the world had ever known. He tried to keep the apostle Peter from fulfilling the commission Christ gave him. King Herod had Peter imprisoned and chained to not one, but two soldiers. On the night before Herod intended to kill Peter, an angel appeared inside the prison.
If you have ever been struck by someone in the middle of the night while you were sleeping, you can imagine how Peter reacted when the angel struck him on the side. Clearly Peter needed more than a gentle wake-up call. As he jumped up, his chains fell off. He had been free the whole time.
The Children of God always enjoy freedom. Christ broke our chains on the cross. We are not slaves to sin, or the world. We are not slaves to religion or even the ritualistic aspects of the Old Testament law. We are free to do the will of God. We all need to be awakened to this glorious truth so that we will shed the broken chains we are still wearing.
The angel also directed Peter to get dressed quickly and follow him. When they got to the iron gate, it opened automatically. Today we are very familiar with automatic doors. They open when you approach them. There are many doors that appear closed but will open when we walk in faith toward them- doors to ministry and service will surely open when you walk toward them in obedience and faith.
The freedom we enjoy in Christ assures us that we can serve God against all opposition and will produce the fruit of the Spirit against all odds.