again, happy new year. And as I was thinking about what to preach on today, I was kind of
initially going to preach a new year's day kind of sermon. And then I kind of thought, well,
I sort of already did that on Sunday, you know, teach us a number of days, kind of already did
that. And we've been going on these Wednesdays chapter by chapter through the book of Acts. So
I wanted to get back on the book of Acts as well. And then as I was rereading Acts 12, I thought,
you know what, I can actually kill two birds with one stone. I can get through the chapter and I
believe I can make this a new year's kind of sermon. Okay. So if you look at Acts 12 in verse
number seven, it says, and behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him and a light shined in the
prison and he smote Peter on the side and raised him up saying, I rise up quickly and his chains
fell off. So the sermon tonight is his chains fell off, his chains fell off. Now I won't get to turn
there, but quickly, I'll read it to you quickly there in Psalm 68, verse number six, Psalm 68,
verse number six, it says, God set off the solitary in families. He bringeth out those
which are bound with chains, but the rebellious dwell in a dry land. He bringeth out those which
are bound with chains. As I said, the title of the sermon tonight is his chains fell off.
Now we've got a new year. God's given us a brand new year to serve him faithfully. He's given you
this first day at the very least. Praise God for that. And I want you to think back to 2024. And
you know, did you serve the Lord God at your fullest? Did you give him all that you had?
Did you give him all the other resources, the ability, the availability, you know,
did you attend other church services that you were able to attend? Did you get through the Bible?
Did you read it cover to cover? Did you get out there and see some soul saved? You know, how was
your service to the Lord in 2024? You know, and whatever, whatever that answer is, and that's
between you and the Lord, you know, I want your 2025 to be even greater. I want you to be able
to do something great for the Lord. But one thing that we can take in this story, we have
Peter imprisoned, and he's chained up, right, when you're chained up, you're not free to be able to
do as much as you possibly can. And so other things in your life that are, that have changed
are the chains in your life that are stopping you from serving the Lord faithfully in 2025.
And if you can identify those chains, I don't know what they all are, maybe in your life,
I'll give you some examples that we can see in this chapter what they might be.
But when we identify these chains that are preventing us from serving the Lord,
we want to be free from those chains. And so as I said, the title of the sermon to this morning,
tonight is his chains fell off. Peter had his chains removed so he could get out of the prison
and do a great work for God. Now in let's start in verse number one, Acts chapter 12, verse number
one. Now about that time, they say, Well, what time are we talking about? Well, just remember,
in the previous chapter, we finished with the story of the church in the church in
the Gentile Church, what was it called again? Antioch, the church in Antioch, sorry, guys.
All right, where all these Gentiles are getting saved, we're following the story of Barnabas to
get set there to help establish that church. And then Barnabas goes away and he fetches for Paul
or Saul at this point in time still. And you know, he needs more leaders, he needs more helpers in
the ministry. And so while there's a great work being done in Antioch amongst the Gentiles,
in chapter 12, we come back to Jerusalem, okay. And we're introduced here to King Herod now.
So it says that now about the time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain
of the church. So this King Herod, it's not the King Herod that is known as Herod the Great,
you know, Herod the Great, which is the one that sought to kill Jesus Christ. It's not that King
Herod, because we know he died before Joseph was to return out of Egypt. And then we have another
Herod that we know about, which is the one that caused John the Baptist to be beheaded. And that
King Herod was the son of Herod the Great, but it's not that Herod either. This Herod is the
grandson of Herod the Great, okay, through another son that Herod had. And so this King Herod
says he that he began to vex the church, started to persecute the church. And in verse number two,
it says, and he killed James the brother of John with the sword. Okay, so we have another death,
we had the death of Stephen, a few chapters ago of a believer of a saint. And now we have James,
and say, who is James? Well, it's the brother of John, you may recall the sons of Zebedee,
if you can hold your finger there, come with me to Mark number 10. So James is one of the 12,
he's one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. And if you come with me to Mark 10,
Mark 10, verse number 32, Mark 10, I'll share some of my thoughts here in this passage here,
I'll read it to you quickly. Mark 10, 32, please, Mark 10, 32. And it says in Mark 10, 32,
and they were in the way going up to Jerusalem. And Jesus went before them, and they were amazed.
And as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the 12 and began to tell them what
things should happen unto him, saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be
delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
and shall deliver him to the Gentiles, and they shall mock him, and shall scourge him,
and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him. And the third day, he shall rise up again.
So we have Jesus very clearly getting his 12, explaining that he's going to get arrested,
tortured, killed, but you know, don't despair, he's going to rise again on the third day.
And then look at verse 35. And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came unto him, saying, Master,
we would that thou shouldst do for us whatsoever we shall desire. Okay, so they have a special
request of Jesus, they just heard that Jesus is going to die. So we need to get our special
request of Jesus before he passes away, or whatever, you know, before this turmoil falls
upon him, we want to make sure we ask him this question. We can see here that we have James and
John and of course, it's James that died with the sword by the power of all the by the, you know,
the command of Herod, King Herod, okay. And then it says in verse 36, and he said unto them, so
please respond to them, okay, what would ye that I should do for you? They said unto him, Grant unto
us that we may sit one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand in thy glory. I think it's
a really good request. God, Jesus Christ, can you allow us to sit right next to you in heaven? I
mean, we want to be as close to you as possible. I think their hearts are in the right place,
you know, as a general thing, right. And then what does Christ say? Verse number 38. But Jesus said
unto them, ye know not what ye ask, can ye drink of the cup that I drink of, and be baptised with
the baptism that I am baptised with. Now you say, what is the cup that he drinks of? And what is the
baptism that he's been baptised with? He just described it, his death, he's going to be taken,
right, he's going to be beaten, tortured, and he's going to be put to death. He says, look,
can you also go through something like this? Can you be baptised? Can you drink of the same cup
that I'm going to drink of? Look at verse 139. And they said unto him, we can. And Jesus said unto
them, ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of. And with the baptism that I am baptised
with all, shall ye be baptised? He goes, you're right, you will drink of the cup that I'm going
to drink of, you will be baptised with the baptism that I'm going to be baptised with. Verse 140.
But to sit on my right hand, and on my left hand is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them
for whom it is prepared. And so what Christ is explaining here is if you want a prominent
position to sit right there on his right hand, right, you're going to have to go through a
lot of suffering, a lot of persecution, right, being persecuted for your faith.
You know, I don't know exactly how it's all going to work out in heaven. But of course,
those that did the greatest works for God, those that suffered and died for his name's sake,
they're going to receive some great treasure, some great rewards in heaven, might even be elevated to
sit on the right and the left side of Jesus Christ. But I want you to notice that Jesus did say to
him, yeah, you are going to die like I'm going to die. Okay, so now we get to Acts 12. And what
happens? James, at least one of the brothers now is being persecuted, and he gets put to death.
Okay, we don't have a lot of information about how he was put to death by sword. Okay, but exactly,
we don't know what process maybe suffered greatly, just like Christ suffered greatly, James possibly
suffered greatly as well. All right, now, title for the sermon was his chains fell off. You know,
I've been thinking about what does this chapter teach us about what might be preventing us from
serving the Lord freely with our lives? You know, what kind of things maybe prevented you in 2024?
And maybe the first thing that we can pick up here is the concerns of persecution,
maybe fear in persecution. Oh, what's going to happen? Am I going to lose my life? You know,
people gonna hate me for the name of Christ. That can stop you from serving him at your fullest.
That can definitely be a chain that holds you back and prevents you from doing something great
for God. If you can keep your finger then come with me to Matthew five, please come with me to
Matthew five. The first chain that I think we can learn from this chapter is the concerns of
persecution. And I look and I have shared before that, like, if I look back at my Christian life,
I just don't feel like I've really ever been persecuted. But let me let me give you a bit
more context of that. What I mean by that is not like these guys. Like, I've never had to suffer
by sword. I've never, you know, I've been taken out and be stoned or, you know, I've never really
had the threat of a loss of life, or anything like that. Like, as far as the worst persecution might
go, is people, you know, saying them a false prophet, or people rejecting you at the door,
you know, yelling profanities at you, you know, some veiled threats at you for preaching the
gospel. I mean, that's the kind of persecution we might go through. And thank God we live in
Australia, thank God we live in this time where we don't really have to be afraid. Like, I'm not
really afraid right now that we're going to have some militia run inside and slaughter us all,
or, you know, or ask us to, you know, reject the Lord Jesus Christ or be forced to, you know,
commit to some other faith or some other religion. I don't have those fears in 2024. But you know,
just even the slightest of persecution can be a chain that holds you back in this new year that
God has given you. Because persecution is real. You know, if you live godly, you will suffer
persecution. This is a guarantee you are going to face troubles just for being a believer,
just for living a godly life, a life that pleases the Lord. You're there in Matthew five,
look at Matthew 5-11. If that's one of your chains, if you know deep down one of the reasons
that I'm not serving the Lord faithfully is I'm worried about who's going to hate me.
Okay, if that's your concern, look what it says in verse 11, Matthew 5-11,
blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil
against you, falsely for my sake. Should we fear persecution? Not really. Jesus saying, hey,
it's a blessing. You're being blessed when this happens to you. Why? Look at verse number 12.
Rejoice and be exceeding glad. Not just happy, like exceeding. Guys, I'm being persecuted.
Did you hear about it? They tried to kill me last week. Yes. That's an exaggeration. Rejoice,
be exceeding glad, look at this, for great is your reward in heaven,
for so persecuted are they the prophets which were before you. So not only is it a great blessing,
not only is it something that should bring great joy in your hearts, it also gives you,
guarantees you reward in heaven. And of course, as God's people, our minds, our eyes need to be
on heaven, needs to be on eternity, needs to be about everlasting life. You know, you know,
I always say how short this life on this earth is, especially in comparison to eternity. Man,
we ought to be living for eternity. We ought to be, you know, building our bank accounts
in eternity. And you know what? Part of that is just being persecuted. Like we kind of think
about, you know, doing great works for God is what gives us rewards and it does, but just having
persecution. People that hate you, people that want to harm you. You say, pastor, I've not really
had that. Well, maybe we need to ask for a bit of that. Oh no, no, no. It was great reward.
And many times it's the fear of being hated that stops us from serving the Lord. You know,
is this one chain that has helped you, held you back in 2024? Come back with me to Acts 12,
Acts 12 and verse number three, Acts 12 and verse number three.
So King Herod causes James to be killed. And this is crazy. Look at verse number three.
And because he saw, he pleased the Jews. The Christ rejecting Jews are like, yes,
one of the disciples of Jesus, one of the apostles has been killed. How wicked are these people?
But because he pleased the Jews, look, he proceeded further. So Herod was like, Oh,
they liked it. You know, I'm being well liked for persecuting God's people. So it's like,
what else can I do? He proceeded further to take Peter also. Then were the days of unleavened
bread. So, you know, there's the Passover and then the seven days of unleavened bread takes
place afterwards. So it's like an eight day, you know, a holiday that they're celebrating,
eight day Sabbath. Verse number four. And when they had apprehended him, he put him in prison
and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him, intending after
Easter to bring him forth to the people. All right. So because he was arrested during the
holiday season, during the Sabbath, like he can't just, it's kind of like Jesus, right? They wanted
to take the body of Jesus down, you know, because the Sabbath was upon them. The holiday season was
upon them. Well, same thing. He threw Peter in prison, but it's like after the holiday season,
after Easter, then I'll bring them him forth before the people. Then we'll judge him. Then
we'll kill him or whatever it was that he had in his heart. Now, a few things here. Verse number
four mentions Easter. Now, I don't know if you are confused by this at all. I know I used to be
many years ago because I don't know where I got the teaching, but I heard that Easter is a pagan
holiday. Now, maybe pagans did something during Easter. I don't know. I'm sure pagans did
something during Christmas. All right. And so when someone holds that position, they'll say,
this is the only place where Easter is mentioned. And so King Herod here is intended not after the
Days of Unleavened Bread, but after the pagan holiday of Easter to bring him forth before the
people. But that doesn't make sense for a few reasons. Number one, we just were introduced to
the Days of Unleavened Bread, which is Passover. It's days straight after Passover. Okay. He
doesn't want to bring him before the people because we understand that, you know, you can't
like condemn or have an unclean dead body on these holiday period of time. Again, why they had to
take the body of Christ away from the cross and bury him before the Passover began. But so like
the fact that he's waiting until after Easter makes sense as these are Jewish people. They're
not going to be celebrating a pagan holiday. They'll be celebrating the holidays that God
has instructed them to follow in the Old Testament. So I don't know if anyone's ever heard that
before. I've heard it and I thought this was some pagan holiday, Easter. Okay. Now we celebrate it.
I still celebrate this. Okay. And we do this as a church. And when we do, we, you know, we
have the Lord's table as well. We break bread and drink of the cup and remember the death of Jesus
Christ. And, but you know, I went back to the Greek. You believe it brethren? I went back to
the Greek. I don't do it very often. So I went back to, to work out. Okay. Is this like some
pagan holiday in the Greek or is this just Passover? Well, if you go back to the Greek,
the Greek word is pasture, something like that. Okay. Pasture. Now that sounds like the Hebrew,
a little bit Passover. Now that's English, but you know, the Hebrew form of Passover,
Pasha, you know, it's basically the same word. You know, in Spanish, for example, Easter is Pasqua,
which is basically the same, almost the same word as the Greek, which is about Easter,
which is about the Passover, which is remembering Jesus Christ, our Passover and his death. So even
when you go back to the Greek, it just confirms it's the Passover. It's the Days of Unleavened
Bread. This is what he's waiting for to bring Peter out to be judged by the people. Something
else that I found interesting in verse number four, I don't know if you've, you know, when the
Bible has these little bits of information, it always makes me wonder, why did God do that?
But it says in verse number four, when they had apprehended him, he put him in prison
and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers. So I had to look at what, what's the significance
of that quaternions of soldiers? Well, it's like the word quarter, you know, quarter is four.
So if there's four quaternions of soldiers, it's four times four, which is 16. So there are 16
soldiers responsible to make sure Peter stays in prison. I mean, I don't like just think about
that logically, 16. So he's in prison, he's behind bars. And you've seen not only is he behind bars,
but he's chained up. And they still need 16 soldiers to watch him. Like, isn't that a bit
of overkill? Doesn't it a bit overkill? You don't even need a soldier, like, if you're gonna get one,
just get one soldier. But like, you get 16 of them to make sure they're the ones responsible
for Peter's incarceration. And you might ask, why is that? Well, if you can keep your finger
then quickly come back with me to Acts five, come with me to Acts five. So what we read in Acts 12
is the third time that Peter has been arrested and imprisoned so far in the book of Acts. The
first time he was arrested for preaching in Jerusalem. And, you know, he was there overnight,
they brought him out and they commanded him not to preach in the name of Jesus. Okay,
that's the first time. The second time, well, let's look, this is the second time in Acts five,
let's read it, Acts 5 17. Then the high priest rose up and they that were with him, which is
in the sect of the Sadducees, and were filled with indignation and laid their hands on the apostles
and put them in the common prison. But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors
and brought them forth and said, go, stand and speak in the temple to the people,
all the words of this life. So the second incarceration of Peter, a miracle takes place,
an angel comes, opens up the jails, they're able to walk out, nobody knows, none of the keepers
know that these apostles left. So now we know why in chapter 12 there's overkill. It's like Peter's
gone out somehow. All right. They don't know how, how did Peter get out last time? All right,
put him behind bars, chain him up and appoint 16 soldiers to watch him. You know, now, now he's
going to stay in prison, right? Now it's definitely going to happen. So that's the reason for the
overkill. Okay, when you think about it logically, you know, he's been arrested and he got out last
time. All right. Now, also in verse number four, the other thing I want you to notice there. So
he's in prison, right? And at the end of verse number four, it says intending after Easter to
bring him forth to the people. I got thinking about this. Why, you know, Herod wants to bring
him out to the people. I mean, Herod could, I guess, judge him himself. He could go through
some type of court proceedings, but he intends to bring him out to the people, obviously for a
public showing. You know, Herod likes the idea that the Jews love him for persecuting God's
people. All right. So he brings him out before the people. This got me thinking a little bit
about another chain that we might have in our lives, kind of similar to persecution,
but a little bit different. And this is the fear of judgments. You know, the second chain that
might be holding you back from serving God faithfully in 2025 is the fear of judgments.
This isn't so much persecution, but you might be wondering what do the people say about me?
You know, I go to church on Sundays. I go to church on Wednesdays. I read my Bible. You know,
I don't hang out with the worldly and, you know, perform sinful activities,
wicked activities like others. And like I know, you know, when you're young, especially when
you're a young teen and you got friends, peer pressure and standing out to be a believer,
standing out as a Christ follower is difficult when others can mock you, right? When others look
down, it's like, oh, that guy's, that guy's in a cult. He's too over committed, right? You know,
you know, we got to normalize him to some extent, right? And I don't know about you,
I've had those feelings. I've had the feelings, man, I just want to serve the Lord. I want to
love him and, you know, I want to go soul winning, but what are my friends going to say about that?
Or what am I, what's my family going to say about that? You know, one of the concerns when I became
a pastor was what are my ex-colleagues going to say about me when they see me on YouTube and I
preach some controversial sermon? What are my ex-workers, what are my ex-friends in the work
going to say? I mean, it didn't stop me, obviously. Okay, but it is a thought that goes through the
mind. I've had, I won't name any names, but I've had a man once say to me, you know, I don't know
if I really want my sermon up on your YouTube channel because I've got to conduct business and
if they find me online, they might not find like what they see. And so, I mean, I've had,
I've had people look me up because I've been recommended, all right, I don't want to name
the church because I'm friends with certain people, but I've had people recommend, hey,
listen to Pastor Kevin and they looked me up and for some reason, it's always the controversial
sermons that pop up first on YouTube. So they judge you by the controversial sermons and like,
I just don't like him, you know, and it's like, what's, you know, the fear of judgments.
Well, I'm worried about what people are going to say about me. People that I know, my friends,
my, my family, my coworkers, you know, what about my neighbors? What if my neighbors find out
that I love the Lord and I'm, you know, whatever, you know, I'm serving the Lord faithfully.
That fear of judgment, the thought about how others feel about you can stop you from serving
the Lord. It can definitely be a chain that you need to be set free from. Can you keep your finger
there and come with me to second Corinthians, please come with me to second Corinthians.
How do you overcome the fear of judgments?
The way you overcome the fear of judgments is by fearing the right judgments.
The fear of judgment is actually a good thing. Okay. You just got to make sure you're fearing
the right one. Okay. And in second Corinthians chapter five, second Corinthians chapter five
and verse number 10, it says, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he have done,
whether it be good or bad Brethren, you will be judged and you will be judged by Jesus Christ.
Now we're not going to be judged for our sins. Our sins were judged when Christ died in our place.
Okay. That's where our sins were judged in Christ Jesus. But we are going to be judged for the works
that we've done for Jesus Christ. You know, the works that you did for God in 2024 are going to
be judged and you're going to be rewarded. You're going to be blessed, but there's good and there's
bad. Some of the works that we've done are bad works. They're unprofitable. They're not sins,
but they're just unprofitable. They have no eternal value. We want to make sure that when
we're judged, we're left with some things that are of eternal value and say, Lord, we did it for
you. Obviously, if we just did it for ourselves, that's just going to burn in the fires of God's
judgment. But if we did it for the Lord, we did it for eternity, we did it for his kingdom,
then there'll be a great reward. But Brethren, you have to decide, you know, which judgment am I
going to fear? And I'm going to be, am I going to be fearful of the judgment of man, or am I going
to fear the judgment of Jesus? And we know how important it is to have a fear of the Lord.
Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
It's the fear of the Lord that drives us to keep his commandments,
to serve him and prioritize him and seek his will rather than our own will.
You know, knowing that you're going to be judged is going to drive you,
but which one do you fear? And so I don't know, you just got to set your heart to fear the Lord.
Jesus, I'm concerned about what you have to say about me. And in order for me to be concerned
about what you have to say about me, Jesus Christ, that I need to lose my fears and my concerns
of those that judge me on this earth. But the fear of judgment, maybe that's you. Maybe you're
worried about your family and friends, people that know you very well, what they have to say about
you in your service for Jesus Christ. Come back with me to Acts 12, Acts 12.
Acts 12. And so the title, like I said, was his chains fell off. You know, if these are
chains that are holding you back from serving the Lord, they need to come off.
All right. I want you to set your heart the first day of 2025. I need these chains removed
off me, Lord, so I can serve you this year that you've given me. Verse number five.
Peter therefore was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God
for him. And when Herod would have brought him forth the same night, Peter was sleeping between
two soldiers, band with two chains, and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
So he's sleeping and like inside the prison cell, there's two soldiers with him.
Like that's how concerned they are that he's going to find a way to escape.
And then you've got another two just standing outside, right? But remember there's 16 soldiers
all together that are responsible for him. Verse number seven, and behold, the angel of the Lord
came upon him and a light shined in the prison. And he smote Peter by the side, because he was
sleeping, right? Wake him up, by the side and raise him up saying, arise up quickly.
And his chains fell off from his hands. And that's where we get the title from the sermon,
right? His chains fell off. But you know what I want to say to you today, Brethren,
is what the angel said to Peter. Arise up quickly. Brethren, these chains that are holding you back,
and look, I might not name all the chains today. There might be other chains in your life
that are holding him back from serving the Lord. Get them off quickly, quickly. Don't wait.
Oh Pastor, I'll just hold on to these chains for a little longer, see if I can serve the Lord.
Quickly, you know, it's time to move. It's time to do something great for God in 2025.
Verse number eight, and the angel said unto him, gird thyself and bind on thy sandals,
and so he did. And he saith unto him, cast thy garment about thee and follow me.
So Peter gets dressed, right? All right, ready to go. Verse number nine,
and he went out and followed him, and wist not that it was true, which was done by the angel,
but thought he saw a vision. So Peter's unsure, like, he's like, is this real life?
You know, have you ever had that experience where you're dreaming and you're like, is this real?
And you're trying to pinch yourself, like, is this, is this real? You know, and like,
because Peter just woke up, right? He's like, I guess in a day, he's like, you know, half asleep,
he's like, is this, is this a dream? Or is this really happening to me? Can't,
can't figure it out straight away. Then verse number two, sorry, verse number 10.
When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth
unto the city, which opened to them of its own accord. So the iron gate, which probably
requires several men to open, just opens by itself. Okay. Obviously by the power of God.
And they went out and passed through one street and forthwith the angel departed from him.
So Peter's free and the angel's gone. All right. He got out of the prison and the church in
Jerusalem has been praying for him without ceasing. Okay. They've been praying for his
deliverance. And now he's out. Verse number 11. And when Peter was come to himself,
so now you're going to like, I am awake. Wow. I'm out of the prison. I'm awake. He's come to
himself. He said, now I know of a surety that the Lord has sent his angel and have delivered
me out of the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
So he's like, God's delivered me from death, right? Herod and the expectation of the Jews.
They're seeking to kill us. And God's delivered him from this. Verse number 12. And when he had
considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose surname was Mark,
where many were gathered together praying. All right. So we see verse number 12,
they're still praying. The believers are still gathered together, praying for Peter.
And I want to bring you back to verse number five again. It says Peter therefore
was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
Prayer without ceasing. Brethren, the third chain that you might have in your life
is neglected prayer. Neglected prayer. That can be a chain that's holding you back from serving the
Lord faithfully in 2025. And I remember, look, my life is very different as a pastor, because
I'm forced to be in church. I'm forced to read God's word and study and preach. I'm also forced
to pray for the people that God has put under my authority. You know, but going back years and
years ago, there were times that I just forget to pray. I can go days, I could go weeks, I don't
think months, but I could go a long time and just forget to pray. And I don't know if that's you.
Maybe your prayer life in 2024 wasn't that great. But we see when a brother in the Lord is going
through hardship, that the church comes together and they pray without ceasing. You know, one thing
that I love about Wednesday nights is when we get together as a church together and we pray for
others that have great needs. You know, the house of the Lord ought to be a house of prayer. Okay,
it ought to be a place where we go to God and petition the needs of others and our own personal
needs, of course, to a God that hears us. Can you come with me to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5.
1 Thessalonians, keep your finger there in Acts 12. Come with me to 1 Thessalonians 5.
1 Thessalonians chapter 5. So we saw that the church prayer was made without ceasing of the
church unto God for him. And look at 1 Thessalonians 5 17. Pray without ceasing.
Pray without ceasing. Now this doesn't mean that every second of your day you ought to be,
you know, kneeling in prayer. And obviously that's impossibility. Otherwise you'll get
nothing else done in life. Okay. But pray without ceasing essentially means pray frequently.
This should be a consistent pattern of our day where we stop for a moment and we just
commit some words to our Lord God. We ask him, we express our needs to him.
Pray without ceasing. Like that's as clear of a commandment as you're going to see in the Bible.
Like there's no black and white there. There's like, whoa, maybe just pray once a year or
something like that. Just make a pattern of your life where you are just continually,
you know, frequently I should say in prayer to God. And, you know, in my life it can look like
this. I wake up in the morning. I say a few words to God to bless my day and to thank him for the
day that he's given me. You know, if I jump in a car and I've got, you know, it's just me. I'll
pray in the car many times. I do pray quite often when I'm flying to Sydney in the airplane. Got
really nothing else to do but to sit there and look out the window. It gets boring after a while.
So, you know, I'm a bit closer to God, so it's a good time to pray. You know, that's kind of what
it looks like for me. And I've always said before I get up to preach, I'm in prayer to God. I'm
begging God to make me a great preacher for his sake, for his name, and to feed God's people
his word. And then before I go to bed, when I lay my head on the pillow, I'm in prayer to God.
I used to pray a long prayer at night. I don't do it anymore because I found myself
falling asleep half time, like halfway through prayer sometimes. And then I'd be embarrassed in
the morning. I'm like, did I finish that prayer? Did I finish talking to God? Or did I just fall
asleep? So I make my night prayers very quick now. I just thank you for the day you've given me,
Lord, and bless me tomorrow, etc, etc, etc. Okay, now, I don't know, I don't know if that's
sufficient. But I want you to get the idea that throughout your day, all right, I'm sure you have
plenty of quiet times, where you can just stop and just give God some thanks, sing him a song
of praise, you know, ask him to bless you for the next hour. You know, you might be working a job,
you've got a task to do, and you think that's gonna be a bit tough, Lord, just quickly go to
God in prayer. It doesn't have to be long, say, Lord, I've got this job to do. I want to serve
you. I want you to be my boss. I want to be a good employee for your name, Jesus Christ. Can you
please help me to get the job done? Just these things and going to him frequently and throughout
your day is an important part of your spiritual life. But as I expressed to you, I know what it's
like, I've gone days, I've gone weeks without praying. And you know what that does? It dries,
it dries up your spiritual walk. It's like you're putting the chains on, and you've been restricted
from doing something great for the Lord Jesus Christ. Is neglected prayer a chain that you've
had in 2024? Well, you need to break that chain off. All right, you need to go to God frequently
in prayer. James 4 and verse 2 says, ye have not because ye ask not. Wow, ye have not because ye
ask not. Has that ever happened to you where you're like some struggle, some problem, you need
an answer, you need a way, you need some wisdom, you need to overcome the trial you're going through and
you're just not having success? You're like, what's going on, God? It's like, oh,
did I even ask you to help me? Nope. Whoops. Has that ever happened to me, brethren? Why
hasn't God helped me? Oh, I forgot to ask him. Ye have not because ye ask not.
So brethren, look, if this is a chain that's holding you back from serving God to your fullest,
you need to get that chain off you, right? And go and pray to our Lord God frequently.
Look at the success of this church. Look at the miracle that took place,
where one of the most powerful men on the earth, Herod, all right, versus Peter. All right,
Herod versus Peter, who's going to win? Obviously, it's going to be Herod. But these churchgoers,
they get together, they pray. And the Lord does a powerful work, a powerful miracle,
sends his angel to deliver Peter out of his difficulties.
Come back with me to Acts 12. Acts 12, verse number 13. Acts 12, verse number 13.
And as Peter knocked at the door of the gates, that's of the house of Mary, the mother of John.
And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to Harken, named Rhoda.
And when she saw, sorry, and when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gates for gladness,
but ran in and told how Peter stood before the gates.
So she's in the, you know, the church gathering, and she's hearing the prayer.
Someone comes and knocks on the gate, whatever they do, right, rings the bell, I don't know.
And so they send the damsel. Damsel means young woman, all right. They send one of the young ones,
one of the teenagers, let's say, all right. Oh, you go and check who's out there, right?
And she hears Peter. She's like, oh, he's here. All right, she's so excited. Instead
of opening the gate for Peter, she runs back inside. Peter's here. Our prayers are answered.
Look at verse 115. And they said unto her, this is the rest of the church.
And they said unto her, thou art mad. Saying, you're insane. You're crazy.
But she constantly affirms that it was even so. And then said they, it is his angel.
Now, what does that mean for them to say it is his angel? I don't really have a full answer for
you. I'll give you, I'll share some thoughts here, okay. Now we know that Peter was delivered
by an angel. Maybe he had a guardian angel watching him. I don't know exactly how the
spiritual realm works exactly, okay. Now let's say it was one of these heavenly angels.
Wouldn't they still say open the gate. Let's go and check out this angel.
Do you know what I mean? Or if angel just means messenger, like maybe Peter sent one of his,
you know, messengers, one of his helpers in the ministry to come to the door. Or even if it was
one of Peter's messengers, wouldn't you again, go and open the gate, let him in, right. But they're
mocking her. They're saying she's insane, that she's crazy. So what I think they just, I think
what they mean is, yeah, they mean an angel like a heavenly host angel, but they're doing it
mockingly. Like you're crazy or insane. Maybe it's just one of his angels or something like this.
I don't know. You know, I'm not sure exactly, but I think if they truly believed it was an angel
from heaven, then open up. Or if they truly believed it was just a messenger that Peter sent,
will open up, okay. But they think she's crazy, right. They don't think what she's saying is true.
And what I think about this story here, verses 13 to 15, I've got two points for you, two chains
that might be holding you back in 2025. Number one, a lack of faith. So you might be a pastor,
I've got no problem praying. Praise God for you. But we can see the whole church is praying for
Peter. But they don't believe that Peter's been free. They're lacking faith. You know,
there should be, well, we've been praying about this nonstop. We've been praying frequently for
Peter. And we've just been told by the damsel, he's at the door. So I mean, it doesn't take a
lot of effort to, let's just check. Even if we think she's confused, let's just send someone
else go and check if it's truly Peter. They didn't even have enough faith to send someone
to check it out. A lack of faith might be holding you back in 2025. Now, I personally,
I don't think I'm a very faithful man. Honestly, I don't like when I think of myself. And I say
that in comparison to other men, and even men in this church, who have such a confidence,
such assurance that God's going to come through every single time. And I know it's true in many
ways. But I realised, man, I have a lot to catch up sometimes with some of the people that speak
and even within this church. And if you can come with me to, let's see, come with me to Luke 17.
Come with me to Luke 17.
A lack of faith is not a weird or uncommon thing. I mean, this whole church is lacking faith,
this whole church in Jerusalem. And while you're turning to Luke 17,
I'm going to read to you quickly from Mark 9 23.
Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
And straightway, the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe,
help thou mine unbelief. I feel like I'm that person many times. Now this man in particular,
he had a lunatic son, some evil spirit that was bothering his son. And he goes to Jesus,
Jesus, can you heal him? Just as well if you just believe, it will happen. So I believe but
I'm not 100%. All right, help thou mine unbelief. And I like these stories in the Bible because I
can relate to it. I believe Lord, I know you can, but there's something in me, my weakness,
my flesh, right? The doubts in my heart, whatever it is. Can you help me with my unbelief?
Is a lack of faith a chain holding you back from serving God in 2025?
If it is, what's the answer? Lord, help mine unbelief.
Lord, can you increase my faith? Look at Luke 17, Luke 17, verse number three.
Luke 17, verse number three. Take heed to yourselves, if thy brother trespass against thee,
rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee, seven times in a day,
and seven times in a day, turn again to these saying, I repent, thou shall forgive him.
And the apostles said unto the Lord, increase our faith, increase our faith. It's not they don't
have any faith. But he's asking him something very hard. They're like, okay, I can forgive once.
But Jesus says, all right, if he does it seven times in a day,
a brother, I come to you, and I offend you. Like right now, I just go and say something
horrible to you. Brother Jordan. You know, those burgers were garbage. Those burgers were garbage,
brother. I give you like, you know, Pastor Kevin, you know, I assume, maybe not. He'll be like,
yeah, I can do better next time. Who knows? But I assume he'd be like, man, I just gave myself and
faithfully serve in the church. I want to be a blessing. And I've just been criticized. Why? I
mean, what have I done wrong? There might be a bit of bitterness and you might need to rebuke me,
brother Jordan, for something like that, right? I say, you know what, brother? I don't know why
I said that. I'm such an idiot. Please forgive me. I'm sorry. You're like, yeah, all right,
let's put it behind us, Pastor. All right, done. Okay. It's, you know, it's a hard process to go
and say sorry and to rebuke and forgiveness. It's a bit of an uncomfortable process in general.
But maybe once we can get over it. You know, you might say, well, I'm going to,
somebody in my church, I'm just going to give them once a year. If they offend me once a year,
you know, I'll be able to forgive them. But twice a year. Come on, they should know better than that.
Jesus says, what if they do it seven times in one day? You still should forgive them.
I think it's too much for some of us in the flesh. It's too much for some of us.
How can this person, the seventh time who says sorry in one day, how, I don't think it's even
been genuine now. I mean, we'll probably say that for the third time. I don't think it's genuine
now. Like, this is just, it's just been like, just, this guy's weird. It's just, you know,
I don't want anything to do with you anymore. Jesus says seven times in one day.
Could you do it? I'd have a hard time. I'll be honest. I'd have a very hard time.
I think by the third time in one day, I'd be like, I'm sick of it. I'm done. See you later.
Uh, block you. Where's my phone here? Block. I don't know. I don't know if I do that. I'm
just saying, you know, I can see myself kind of having that kind of reaction and then maybe
unblocking you five seconds later. But, um, yeah. So how do I do that, Pastor?
You go to Jesus, say, Jesus, increase my faith. I need more faith. I need to be more faithful,
Lord. I, man, I really come short of this. So maybe it's your lack of faith. Maybe it's a lack
of fullness of belief on Christ, not in salvation. We know that's a done deal, but in our service
for him and his ability to use us faithfully for his work. Maybe we think we're just incapable.
How can God use me? Well, you need more faith. You need to ask God to increase your faith.
You need him to ask you. You need to ask him to help you with your unbelief.
Can you come with me to James chapter one, James chapter one, James chapter one, please.
A lack of faith can stop you from serving the Lord. In James one five, it says,
James one five, if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God. They giveth to all men liberally
and uprighteth not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.
So we need to go to God. I need to ask him. I can't go with doubts, Lord. I need answers.
I need help. I need leading. Lord, I know you have the answers. I know you have the ability
to do it for me, Lord. We need to go with faith, in faith without wavering.
For here that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
So in context of the double minded man, what is that? A man who goes to the Lord and says,
Lord, I have need. But you're like, ah, just don't think God's going to do it for me.
I'm struggling and asking him in faith. I have serious doubts now, Lord.
That man is unstable in all his ways. How do you think we're going to be effective in 2025?
Being unstable? Instability. That's the way forward. No, we need to be stable. We need to
be strong. We need to be secure. All right. We need to soldier on for the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's how we win the spiritual war. That's how we do the great things for God.
We say, Lord, we've got a mission. We've got to work. We need some wisdom. We need your help.
We need your guidance. Lord, you're the one that can give it to us. Please give it to us
for your kingdom, for your namesake, Lord. We want to do something great for you in 2025.
And Lord, my lack of faith has been a chain that's held me back in 2024.
Can you increase my faith? Can you help mine unbelief?
The other thing that I pick up on this story here with the damsel
and the rest of the church, who's right and who's wrong in this situation? The church is praying.
Let's just say Wednesday night, we all say, let's all pray together as a group, right?
We bring these prayer requests. Someone turns up at the door and we're like, uh, who can we send?
We're busy praying right now. Let's send, who's the damsel? Let's say Liliana, right? Liliana,
Liliana, go and check who's at the gate, please.
Right? And Liliana comes back and says, brother, Bob has been released from prison. You know,
that was one of the prayer requests. We're praying about it right now. And it's right there.
And the church, we'd say to Liliana, thou art mad. You're insane. You're crazy. There's a reason why
we sent the young person, the damsel. Okay. Cause we're busy praying. Like, you know,
the fifth point that might hold you back or has maybe held you back is despising the youth.
Despising the youth. Kids, what do they know? Teens, what can they do to serve the Lord?
You know, every church needs young people for a church to continue decades after decades,
after decades, we need the next generation to serve the Lord. And brother, they need our
encouragement. We need to encourage the young people in our church, not to treat them as they're
just the kids. Right? Oh, it's the baby. I just, just crying and, and screaming. I'm distracted
from the sermon. That's a wrong attitude. We need these children. They're a precious reward
that God has given mums and dads. And they're in the house of the Lord. I mean, what better place
could our kids be? We know how readily available the internet is and how much garbage there is
online. How many, how the peer pressure is in the world. This is how society is trying to turn
their hearts and minds away from the Lord. The best place to be for our young people is in God's
house. I was so excited in Fiji to see as many young people attend that trip and preach their,
preach the gospel and see some of their first souls saved. To me, that was the highlights
actually. Honestly, like there were many highlights, but one of my greatest highlights
was to see as many young people get their first salvations. So many of them. Or the first time
just opening their mouth and giving the gospel. We need to encourage these guys, right? The damsel
comes with good news. It's like, man, she's a believer. She's our sister. Let's believe her.
This is good news. Sometimes it works in reverse. Sometimes our young people feel change.
They feel like they can't do more for the Lord because they feel like they're being judged
by God's people in God's house. That they're being looked down upon.
And sometimes even amongst independent fundamental Baptist churches, parents are afraid for kids to
be kids. They're afraid for some reason. I don't know why. It's like my kid has to be a mini adults
at church. Don't move. Don't make a sound. Cause I don't want others to think that you're horrible
kids or something like that. You know, that kind of attitude is going to cause your kids to hate
church and to not want to talk to the adults. Kids need to be kids. I'm not saying kids should
play Roblox. Kids need to be kids at church. Have fun. Have a childlike spirit. Enjoy each
other's company. And babies, guess what? They're made to scream. They're made to cry. That's what
they do. And you know, when you get distracted, I'm not saying anyone, I don't know, it might be
a chain in your life that's stopping you from getting plugged into new life Baptist church.
It's too noisy. Too many kids running around. It's the next generation.
You and I, we're going to get older. Our body's going to break down. We're going to lose our
strength. It's these kids that we're hoping that will take the mantle and do something even
greater than what we've been able to do for the Lord. These spies in the youth can be a chain
that holds you back. At least from making new life Baptist church a great church. Can you come
with me to, let's see, come with me to Matthew 19, come with me to Matthew 19, Matthew 19,
Matthew 19. I don't want my kids to be mini adults at church. I want my kids to be kids at church.
Just in case you're like pastor's kids are the worst kids. I want them to be kids.
All right. Just like if you've been recently saved and you're a babe in Christ, I don't want
you to play pretend adults Christian. You can be a baby in Christ. It's okay. It's normal to desire
the sincere milk of God's word. It's normal to not have to know every doctrine and every cryptic
passage of the Bible because you need growth. It takes time and development. You don't want to
skip over the babe process because you need to go from babe to toddler to young man to teenager
or teenager to young man to adulthood. We have a lot of Christians that play being spiritual
adults when they're still babes and there's nothing wrong with being a babe and there's
nothing wrong with being a child. You're there in Matthew 19. You guys know this passage.
Matthew 19 verse number 13, Matthew 19 verse number 13. Then were they brought unto him
little children. They here should put his hands on them and pray and the disciples rebuked them.
Moms and dads they're like we're so happy Jesus is here. We're so happy about the Messiah. We need
our kids to meet Jesus. We want our kids to get saved. We want our kids to love Jesus. So the
parents are like oh here's our chance. Hey go say hello to Jesus. Send the kids and that should be
a beautiful thing. Shouldn't it? Should that not be a beautiful thing to see little children gather
around Jesus but the disciples, the ones that are actually following Jesus, they rebuke them. I
don't know if it's them or the parents or the children or all of the above. They're like no
Jesus is too busy for kids. All right this is an adults only session here. All right babies over
there please. They're too loud. Look what Jesus says in verse 14. But Jesus said suffer or allow
little children and forbid them not to come unto me for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
Of such the kingdom of heaven is made up of little children.
So if the youth, if you despise the youth here you're not going to enjoy heaven very much.
There's plenty of little kids over there.
I don't know again I don't know how the spiritual age works exactly.
Okay but there are many young children that passed away you know are in heaven and then
verse number 15 and he laid his hands on them and departed thence. Jesus had all the time in the
world for the little kids. Okay he knew the importance of the next generation. So don't
allow yourself to despise the youth in this church or any church that you're in. We need them. I don't
know maybe it's just because I'm a father of 12 kids but a bit of noise, a bit of something
happening. It makes church a bit more exciting. When one of our kids are running around they
fall over and they cut their knee and they're bleeding. That's a bit more exciting.
Well that was something else happened at church today right. Something else I can
pray about today right. The recovery of little Mickey's knee or something like that right.
Can we meet to First Timothy 4 please. First Timothy 4. First Timothy 4.
I just find it interesting that the damsel, the young lady, she's the one that's right.
Everyone else is wrong in the church. There must be a lesson there right. There must be a lesson
there and while you're turning to First Timothy 4 I'll read to you from Romans 14. Romans 14 verse
one says, him that is weak in the faith receive ye but not to doubtful disputations. Now I'm not
going to go for the core topic of this but there are some of us that are weaker in the faith than
others right. They're not as strong. They're not as matured in the faith. Maybe they're just new
Christians. They just don't know enough. We're commanded to receive them. Like they're your
brother. Don't reject them. Don't make them feel awful right. Don't run them off just because
they're weak in the faith. Receive them. It says for one believeth that he may eat all things
another who is weak eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise of him that eateth not
and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth. Look at this for God hath received him.
So as brother Jordan was doing the barbecue burgers today that was meat flesh and we have
someone in church that says whoa as much as I see you guys enjoying it I'm a vegetarian.
You know I don't believe God wants to kill animals. They're his special creation.
Let's not kill them. Let's not eat them. I'm going to be vegetarian. Adam and Eve
were vegetarian were they not. And they're weaker in the faith.
And as you're ready to just hammer them with some doctrine. No I'm going to receive you.
God's received you. You're welcome to church. All right sit down and we'll let Pastor Kevin
know to preach a sermon on eating meat. All right. Receive them. They're weak in the faith.
Receive them. Don't make them feel horrible. We're at different levels in our faith.
There are some doctrines you know super well and maybe I don't even know that well.
And there might be doctrines that I know super well and you don't even know that well.
Should we look down upon each other and despise one another because of that. No
we should receive each other because the Lord has received them.
You're there in 1 Timothy 4. Verse number 12.
These are the words of Paul to Timothy. Pastor Timothy. Pastor Timothy wasn't a very old man.
He obviously had to be old enough to be married and have kids. All right. To meet the qualifications.
But he was still a young man in comparison I suppose to other people in his church.
And it's telling Timothy look don't let others despise your youth.
Don't let them discourage you because you're younger than they are.
Oh what do you know Pastor Timothy you haven't lived as long as I have.
I'm now 60 years old and how old are you Pastor Timothy? Oh 28. What do you know about life?
You know that would be very discouraging for Pastor Timothy right?
So Paul says look let no one despise your youth.
And so like I said that could be I don't know if it's a chain. I don't know if it's a chain
in your life that's held you back. You know I don't know if you're the one that despises the youth
or maybe you're a young person in the church and you feel people despise you here at church.
It should not be the case. But these can be chains that prohibit you from serving the Lord this year.
And I don't know about you brethren but I love the youth and I love the babies and I love the
teens and I love the young adults and I love the midlife crisis skies and I love the elderly.
I love everybody that makes up this church. I think you're wonderful. I think you're important.
You're an important part of this church okay.
All right let's go back to the story in Acts 12. Acts 12 16. I've covered my five points brethren.
These are the chains that I see in this chapter that can prohibit you from doing your all for
God in 2025. Verse number 16. But Peter continued knocking and when they had opened the door
and saw him they were astonished. Surprised they're shocked right? The damsel was right
the whole time. Anyway verse number 17. But he beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their
peace declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison and he said go show these
things unto James and to the brethren and he departed and went into another place. So he says
look go and tell this to James. Now we saw earlier in the chapter James was put to death so this is
not the same James okay. Many people believe this is James the brother of Jesus. Probably correct.
I'm not sure how you worked that out yourself exactly from this chapter but most people believe
this is the I should say half brother of Jesus Christ. But it's interesting that he says to
hold their peace so as they realize it's Peter and they're all about to get excited to make a party
like a big noise he's like no hold your peace like you know like this is not like I don't want you
to get in trouble like you know I'm a fugitive let's not let's not let everybody know that I've
been released right. So then he goes go tell others but he goes find another place to go.
Verse number 18. And as soon as it was day there was no small stir among the soldiers that was
become of Peter and when Herod had sought for him and found him not he examined the keepers
and commanded that they should be put to death and he went down from Judea to Caesarea and
there abode. So nobody knows what happened to Peter of course it was a miracle. Herod causes
those 16 soldiers to be put to death. Verse number 20. And Herod was highly and Herod was highly
displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon but they came with one accord to him and having made
blast us the king's chamberlain their friend desired peace because their country was nourished
by the king's country. All right so Herod he's got you know sort of worried about Peter he's got
some political issues to deal with goes to Tyre and Sidon he's displeased with them we don't know
exactly why he's frustrated the people there. Tyre and Sidon by the way are gentile towns
today it's like modern day Lebanon okay and so anyway the people they're kind of concerned
about what Herod might do to them so they make blast blast us the king's chamberlain their friend
it's kind of like maybe they send ambassadors or something right the king's chamberlain is
like the treasurer so it's kind of almost like second in command okay and they try to befriend
the treasurer look let's have peace Herod's on his way we don't want any problems we don't want
any you know let's just make peace amongst ourselves here so that's what's happening
this Herod's dealing with some political issue right now. Verse number 21. And upon a set day
Herod arrayed in royal apparel sat upon his throne and made an oration unto them so there's
a special ceremony Herod's all dressed up starts giving a great speech right preaching to the
people there in Tyre and Sidon verse number 22 and the people gave a shout saying it is the
voice of a god and not of a man so we see that Herod's a great orator all right and people like
wow he's the great amazing speaker and what happens when you hear an amazing speaker
people many times will elevate them above man this person's a god we know that Herod likes
you know when people are pleased by his actions we've seen it before
and look what happens in verse number 23 and immediately the angel of the lord smote him
because he gave not god the glory and was eaten of worms and gave up the ghost very interesting
he gave not god the glory what glory because he's a great speaker all right because he's a great
orator instead of saying hey god's the one that gave me this ability god's given me this strength
in my life instead of saying it's all god and god it's because of you that i can be a great king
over these people he just absorbs it yeah i'm a great man i'm a god in fact i'm greater than a man
so god kills him now notice the words there in verse number 23 and he was eaten of worms
and gave up the ghost so before he gave up the ghost before he is the ghost is the spirit before
the spirit left the body he was eaten of worms do you see that it's not like he was buried
and then the worms just ate his rotten body or something like that no god killed him in a very
gruesome way i don't i don't know what this looks like maybe i've seen too many hollywood movies or
something but the idea that i get is he's just standing there and all of a sudden worms just
come out of his mouth and out of his ears and out of his nostrils out of his eyes and these worms
just in up his body consuming his body and then he dies and his ghost leaves that's probably that's
what i think i don't know again i don't know if i've just seen too many hollywood movies or
something like this okay i mean what else could it be say maybe it's a parasite in his in his stomach
that's caused ulcers or something like this yeah but it wouldn't be that miraculous like
for people to go man look you know the worms ate him up like god caused these worms to just eat
up his body and he just passed away like this right for exalting himself as a god
and then it says in verse number 24 but the word of god grew and multiplied so the number
one enemy at this point in time herrod he's been trying to kill god's people god killed him right
and so because the persecution has died down the word of god's growing it's multiplying
you know people are rejoicing at the death of herrod people are rejoicing at the freedom of
peter and the word of god grew and multiplied i want god's word to grow and multiply in your life
in 2025 i want god's word to grow and multiply for new life baptist church in 2025 what do we
need to do we need to get the chains removed out of our lives and then verse 125 says and
barnabas and soul so we're back to barnabas and soul returned from jerusalem remember they went
to jerusalem to help the um there was a great derp coming on the land so they came and brought
some help from the church in antioc so that they've done that journey they returned from
jerusalem when they have fulfilled their ministry and took with them john whose surname was mark
we'll learn more about this story next week in the next chapter but in conclusion brethren the
title for the sermon was his chains fell off what chains are holding you back from doing something
great for god in 2025 what chains were holding you back in 2024 what chains are holding you back
today from doing something great for god i don't know we can come up with so many different chains
that might be preventing you from serving the lord but the five that i saw in this chapter number one
concerns of persecution number two the fear of judgment number three neglected prayer number
four a lack of faith number five despising the youth do you have any of those chains i hope not
but if you do it's all right now remove it okay arise quickly all right get it off
god can help you we know the lord can do great things for you brethren and god has done some
great things through new life at this church and you know i thank god that i can be a pastor of
this church i hope i can be a good leader to you a good example as best as i can as a human being
but i can't do it alone brethren we need each other i need you you know we need each other
to do something great for god i want new life to do the best work we've ever done in 2025
i don't know what that's going to look like i need some ideas i need some people to say hey
pastor send me to x y and z location let's further our influence i don't know
pastor i've got some ideas for church great can you run it can you do it he who speaks owns can
you own it thank you brother jordan for owning the barbecue today it's awesome anyway brethren as i
said his chains fell off all right let's pray