Don't settle for bondage. This is the time to lay claim to it, and you got to claim it before you experience it. You gotta say it. I'm going to be free. In Christ, I am free, and I'm going to experience that freedom.
And the here and the now. The only thing tougher than breaking free from bondage is staying free from bondage. Hello, and thanks for stopping by for today's Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepard. In Acts chapter 12, we find the Apostle Peter falsely imprisoned. Placed under heavy guard and slated for certain execution at the hand of King Herod.
A miracle was his only chance at freedom, and he got that miracle. Coming up next, you'll see what Peter did after he was set free. It's a prescription for lasting freedom that you can apply to your own life and one you don't want to miss. Be sure to come see us at pastorpaul.net to listen to Destined for Victory on Demand. That's pastorpaul.net.
Now here's today's Destined for Victory message. It's time to pray. Acts twelve, verses eleven through seventeen. Where you'll find these words in the NIV. Then Peter came to himself and said, Now I know without a doubt.
that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating. When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, also called Mark. where many people had gathered and were praying. Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it.
and exclaimed, Peter is at the door. You're out of your mind, they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said it must be his angel. But Peter kept on knocking. And when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.
Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. Tell James and the brothers about this. he said. Then he left for Another place. In the last message, part two of the series, we talked about a couple of things.
We talked about the importance of persistence. In prayer, of praying. persistently, fervently, continually. Not because God didn't hear you the first time.
Someone asked me after the last message.
Now, how do you rectify the idea of praying persistently or continually with the caution that Jesus gave on one occasion where he talked about persons who believe that for their much speaking they will be heard? There is no irreconcilable difference between the two concepts. When the Bible urges us to pray fervently or persistently, it is not because God requires a certain number of words. And once you reach that number, he says, Okay, now I can bless you because you prayed long enough. As if had you prayed shorter, he would not hear you.
Not at all. The fervency, the persistence, is because of our own heart condition. We need to demonstrate diligence before the Lord. We need to be able to say, God, I need you, and I'm not going to let go until you bless me. It's not unlike a child.
You ever had a child pulling on a piece of your clothing? Daddy, daddy, mama, mama. They know you heard them the first time, but they won't stop till your eyes meet their eyes and until they get an actual response. To what they are asking for. And we can be like that in prayer.
That's simply what the Bible means. We can be fervent, we will not tire our God out. But it does show that we are Desperately in need of the Lord answering our prayers, and so we are willing to be diligent. About the matter of prayer.
So we talked about persistence. We also talked about the issue of bondage. We noted that Peter was bound in prison. He was literally shackled in chains, the Bible tells us. Not only was he bound in chains, but he was guarded.
At any given moment in the 24-hour period, he was guarded by four people. And Herod had put round the clock. Special guards just on Peter. What that meant was he wasn't getting out unless God worked a miracle. And we talked about the fact that if you and I are in bondage in any way, just as God supernaturally set Peter free, he will set you free.
From anything that binds us. I want somebody to know that if you are bound with an addiction, you are bound with besetting sins, you are bound with dysfunctional behavior, you're bound with generational curses from your family of origin, whatever it is, if you are bound, Christ will set you free. I want somebody to believe God for freedom. Not for bondage management. That's a word I got.
Somebody better grab that word. I came loaded with that word. God doesn't want you believing for bondage management.
Well, if I could just behave better while I'm bound, if I could just not act out quite so much. When Jesus met the Gatarene demoniac, the goal wasn't to get him to quiet down. Remember, he was running around in the tombs, and the Bible says that he yelled and he made noise, and those demons in him just made him cry out and what have you. And it says, No man could control him. He was buckwild.
Jesus didn't show up and say, You know what? We can't get you all the way free, but if we can just get you a little quieter so the neighborhood isn't as disturbed. No. Jesus didn't show up to quiet him down or get him to manage his bondage. Jesus spoke to that legion of demons in him and said, Come out.
Bye. And when Jesus got through, the man was sitting there clothed and in his right mind.
Now that was a miracle. You need to believe for a miracle. I don't care how long you've been hooked on whatever you've been hooked on. You need to believe for a miracle. I don't care how long you've been in that pattern of besetting sin.
You need to believe for a miracle. Now it's going to happen with your cooperation. You have to yield to God. You have to say yes to God. You have to surrender to Him.
God will deliver us from our enemies, He will never deliver us from our friends. If your bondage is your buddy, you will keep it. I said, if your bondage is your buddy, you will keep it. If you got a rationalization and an explanation for why you are the way you are, if you love being out of control, angry, if you love being out of control, lustful, if you love being out of control, bound with something in your life, you're going to keep it because you will keep what you love. But if you start hating your bondage If you say, God, I'm sick of it.
I'm tired of living below your purpose for me. I'm tired. If you died to give me a full inheritance, I don't want a meager inheritance. I want everything you got for me. I want not only salvation for eternity, I want deliverance for here and now.
I want provision. I want blessing. I want you, Lord, to meet every need in my life. That's not being greedy, that's just being a child who knows who you are. If I have very wealthy parents, I'm not going to ask for, you know, little.
Pitiful blessings. I'm asked for the hookup. Why? 'Cause my parents can hook me up. You know, if you're born into a poor family, you get what you get.
But if your father owns the cattle on a thousand hills, You say, can I have a few sheep, please? And you walk in faith and obedience, and you tap into your inheritance.
So we talked about the fact that don't settle for bondage, and I want to let you know: do not settle for it. This is the time to lay claim to it, and you've got to claim it before you experience it. You gotta say it. I'm going to be free. In Christ, I am free, and I'm going to experience that freedom.
And the here And the now. All right, now I want to wrap up this series by saying a number of things. First, I want you to look with me at the text I just read: the response after Peter got delivered.
Now, we saw at the end of the last message that the angel got him out of jail, walked him a block away after the city gate opened, walked him down the street some. And once he got him straight, the angel said, All right, you're good. Take care, man. Boom, he's gone. And Peter said, Now I know.
See, he was groggy. It was early in the morning, and he was groggy and all, but finally it dawned on him. that God had really come through for him. And he said, now I know Without a doubt, the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating. I want to let you know, there are some folk anticipating your demise, but let them be surprised.
There are some folk anticipating you're never going to be anything, but let them be surprised. Folk love to anticipate, folk love to prophesy what they want to see happen. When you hear people talking smack about you, that's just what they want to see happen. That's all that is. They don't dictate your destiny.
Not only don't people dictate your destiny, your history doesn't dictate your destiny. If you decide I'm going where God's taking me, you can get there from where you are right now. The people anticipated his death, but he said, The Lord has delivered me.
Some folk are anticipating some negative things in your life, but you've got to let them know: if God before me, doesn't matter what you have to say about it. And so Peter says, Now I know. And then he knows where the saints gather there in Jerusalem. And one of the significant gathering places, the church in Jerusalem was thousands in number, of course, but so they had multiple meeting places. But one of the main places where the saints met was at a lady's house named Mary.
Don't go away. The rest of today's Destined for Victory message, featuring Pastor Paul Shepard, is coming right up. In John 8, Jesus said, If you abide in me, and you are truly my disciples, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. And that's why Destined for Victory is here: to help set people free by teaching timeless truth for a victorious life. We can't do it without your help, and that help is especially important now as summer begins to come to a close.
Donations always tend to decline in these busy summer months, so today we're asking friends and partners like you to lend a helping hand. To connect with what God is doing through Destined for Victory, and to make a generous gift today, please visit us online, pastorpaul.net. That's pastorpaul.net, or simply call 855-339-5500.
Well, you find a lot of Marys in Scripture. Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene. Mary, the sister of Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. But there's another mirror we don't often mention. Maybe we should.
Now, here's the second half of today's message. It's time to pray. Now this Mary Is very significant in early church history because her home was a major gathering place there in Jerusalem. You see it not only here, but actually it is believed by many teachers and scholars, I am one, that it is her home where the upper room was where the saints gathered on the day of Pentecost. It is her home where the Holy Spirit first fell.
She had a large place. God had blessed her with a large place.
So the saints could gather and have a place of worship. That's why I'm believing God to bless his people even financially. If we got big bills, we need folk to have big cash to pay the big bills. Stop believing God for just a little pitiful job. Ask the Lord, Lord, hook me up.
I'll serve you on that job. I'll do your will. I'm believing for some millionaires in the kingdom. 'Cause some of our bills have lots of zeros behind them. Vision often has lots of zeros behind it.
And so you need the saints to be able to give tithes and offerings that can match that need. This lady had a big home, and they were able to gather. In fact, I'll show you how significant a place it was. There were 120 people gathered there. On the day of Pentecost, you remember that?
And so God had blessed her. But it's not just about them being well off. She was spiritually minded. She opened her place so that saints of God could come and gather there. And that's where they were praying.
The other reason why this Mary is so significant is because of her son, John Mark. You remember that name? Does that ring a bell? John Mark is the young man that Paul and Barnabas took with them on the first missionary journey. In Acts 13, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me, Paul and Barnabas, for the work whereunto I've called them, and sent them forth.
The apostles and prophets laid hands on them and blessed them, and they went on their missionary journey.
Well, one of the people who went with them was John Mark. But later on, you see John Mark getting homesick and he couldn't kind of handle the roughness of being out there in the missions world, and folk weren't necessarily friendly to the gospel. And John Mark is used to the saints in his house. He used all that prayer and all that eating after prayer. You know how the saints eat after prayer.
And he's used to the comforts of home, and he's out here roughing it with Paul and Barnabas. And my man left them in the middle of the journey. He said, I am out, deuces. I'm sorry, that just means I'm leaving. Peace be unto you.
Gotta translate as I go. And he went home to the comfort. Yeah. of his mama house. And when the second missionary journey came around in Acts 15.
Do you remember? They were ready to go on this journey, and Barnabas said to Paul, Okay, we're getting ready to go again. Let's go get John Mark. Paul says stop the presses. He's not going You leave me once, that's it.
I'm through. I'm not going to get out there and I'm dependent on you, and you're subject to go running off home again. And Barnabas so contended. For this young man, Barnabas said, How's he going to learn if you don't give him a chance? How are we going to see what God's doing in his life if you don't give him another chance?
And Barnabas, who is the son of encouragement, said, I am not going without him.
Well, Paul said, Well, fine, I'll see both of y'all later. And one of the saddest Things in the scriptures is at the end of Acts 15. Paul took a different companion than the Holy Spirit originally gave him. Silas And Barnabas took John Mark, And they went in two different directions strengthening the churches. They couldn't get on one accord because Paul was too obstinate and said, He ain't going with me.
Here's why I bring that up. The nurturing that's happening, because this is before the fact. The nurturing that's happening in these prayer meetings and in these times of the saints' gathering is doing a work in this young man. No, in a couple of chapters, we're going to see him fail by running back home in the middle of the trip. And no, Paul wouldn't give him a second chance, but God was at work in that young man.
God was so at work in him that do you know who wrote the second gospel? Matthew, Mark, Luke, John? That young man, John, Mark. Wrote the gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't throw folks away who don't belong to you.
If they belong to God, Let God do His work in their lives. Quit prophylaeing over people. Quit speaking death over people. I don't care what they've gone through. If they belong to God, He is able to get them from where they are to where He's destined them to be.
And God doesn't need your approval to do it. And you can mess around if you want and write folks off. You'll see God bless them despite your hate, despite your malice, despite your speaking death over them.
So, this is a very significant woman in a very significant family. In the kingdom, That's where they're gathering. And I love it. Peter goes now. knocks on the door.
Wants to testify, God. I know y'all in there praying. I know y'all. I know y'all have been having prayer meetings for days, and they had, they've been praying for days. Ever since they heard he was arrested.
And he's ready to share the good news. Knocks on the door. Little servant girl, the Bible says, came to the door. Who is it? Peter Wow!
Jesus. She was, verse fourteen, she was so overjoyed. That she ran back. And say, hey, y'all. probably interrupted prayer.
Ain't hell God in the name of Jesus? Oh God, bring Peter out. Oh my God, we're not ready for him to die yet. Oh Lord, in the name of Jesus. And she'd say, hey, scummy, scoot me, it's good, it's good me.
Got him to stop. Guess who's at the door? Peter.
Now, look at the response of all these mighty men and women of God. All these mighty prayer warriors. Bombarding heaven. Look at their faith. In verse 15.
You're out of your mind. Don't tell me, God. Doesn't wink at our humanity. He better Cause that's all we got to offer. They've been praying for days.
Please. At a certain point, you would think faith would have kicked in. I got real good news for you. God knows how human you are. And he loves you anyway.
Oh, I want somebody to go home with that one. Go home with a smile on your face. God knows how human you are. Now, He knows that you know. You're supposed to be walking by faith and not by sight.
You're supposed to be, without faith, it's impossible to please God. He that cometh to God must first believe that He is and that He's a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. He knows you're supposed to know all of that. And when you get through praying your best prayers and you hear God work the miracle, and your response is, you must be crazy. That's what they told her.
Rhoda said no. Little girl's name was Rhoda. Rhoda said no. Yeah. No, no, no, no.
No, I'm not out of my mind. I'm telling you, Peter's at the door. I just got to You talking to him? In fact, I just realized I left him at the door. I got to go back and get it.
But it's him. Look at the people.
Okay, she has persuaded them. That there is somebody at the door. They got that much. Look at these God's women and men of faith and power. They said, all right.
It must be his angel. Do you know what that means? That means they thought He was dead. And they thought That his spirit had come back in the form of an angel. While I'm here, let me get your theology straight.
When you die, you don't become an angel. That's what they thought. They hadn't been fully taught the gospel. They didn't fully understand what we've come to understand because we've had the benefit of the teaching of the apostles over the years, and they passed it down through the centuries in the form of the New Testament. When people die, they don't become angels.
Stop saying that stuff at funerals.
Now she's a little angel flying around in heaven. No, she's not. God made the angels. When you were an angel, you're an angel. That's all you've ever been.
Michael, the archangel, as all he has ever been. He was never Mike down the street. Let me help somebody now. Who that might? Oh, I know Mike.
He live around the corner. Had a dog's name Butcher. I remember my no. Where am I? Y'all messing up my message.
Thanks so much for being here with us for today's Destined for Victory message: It's Time to Pray. To hear any recent message on demand, stop by Pastor Paul dot net. That's pastorpaul.net.
As you know, Destined for Victory gets 100% of its financial support from friends and partners like you. And we're so grateful for all you've done and look forward to how God might use you to help us keep reaching the world for Christ. For your generous donation today, we'd like to send you our latest booklet, Rising Above Offense, because we've all been wounded from time to time, even by the people who love us most. What does God say about how to handle these situations? You'll find out when you read Rising Above Offense.
And if you want to discover the right way to respond when someone offends you, if you want to learn all about the beautiful and amazing power of forgiveness, request your copy of Rising Above Offense when you make a generous gift to Destined for Victory. Give by phone by calling 855-339-5500. That's eight five five three three nine fifty five hundred. Or visit pastorpaul.net to make a safe and secure donation right there online. You can also mail your gift to Destin for Victory.
Post Office Box 1767, Fremont, California, 94538. And here at Destined for Victory, we believe in the power of prayer. Today we'd like to pray for you. Please use the contact feature at the top of our homepage, pastorpaul.net, and share your request with us. That's pastorpaul.net.
Don't spend time fervently praying about something. and then get shocked when God does it. If you are asking, believe. When you ask your daddy for something, believe you're going to get it. That's tomorrow in our message.
It's time to pray. But until then remember. He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.
