SERMON HIGHLIGHTS: The Gospel Cycle: “a Supernatural Jail Break Witnesses the Power of God!”
When Christians go out and boldly preach the gospel of Christ to all people, many people will believe in Jesus and give their lives to Him. Also, those who preach the gospel will perform mighty miracles, and in the process, experience persecutions. The persecutions we experience today may not be as severe as those experienced by the Apostles and the saints of the early church; in which many of them were beaten, thrown in jail, and killed for preaching about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But, be assured that those who preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and do the works of God will suffer humiliation, harassment, and mistreatment by people in society and sadly people in religious circles. (II Timothy 3:12)
For those who operate in the spirit of faith, suffering persecution for the Lord’s sake are considered light afflictions. In fact, we rejoice when we are persecuted, even unto death. (II Corinthians 4: 16-17 and Romans 5:1-5). We understand that persecution performs a perfect work in us of patients, humility, and total dependence on God for our deliverance. We trust in and rely on all of our rewards to come from God alone, who is sure to give us great rewards in heaven, and when Jesus establishes His kingdom on earth! (Matthew 5:12 & Psalm 2:6-8, Revelation 2:10)
Also, another important facet of persecution is that it serves as a witness of God’s power to all men. There is a wonderful account at Acts 5:12-41, where the Apostles performed many signs and wonders, and thereafter, preached the gospel, and many people believed on Jesus and were saved. The power of God was so present on the Apostle Peter, that people came from many cities around and from within Jerusalem, and brought those who were sick and possessed by devils to be healed. The shadow of Peter healed them all as he passed by! So many people began to follow the Apostles and believe in their teachings of Jesus that it caused an uproar among the Jewish leaders—the high priest and Sadducees—as they were filled with jealousy at the preaching of the resurrection of Jesus and the miracles that followed.
The Jewish leaders were so angry that they arrested and threw the Apostles in jail. But watch what happened next! In verse 19, the angel of the Lord came by night and opened the door of the prison, brought the Apostles out, and commanded them to teach eternal life in Jesus Christ in the temple. The next morning, the Apostles taught a multitude of people as instructed. Meanwhile, the Jews had assembled the Sanhedrin council to discuss the fate of the Apostles, and sent word for the officers of the council to have them brought before the council. However, when the officers arrived at the prison, the Apostles were missing. They returned and informed the Jewish leaders that although the prison doors had been locked and carefully guarded, the Apostles were not there.
Wow, what a powerful display of God’s power! Twelve men placed in jail and guarded, were supernaturally escorted out of the prison without their jailors even noticing it the night before! Several purposes were fulfilled by the Apostles being delivered from jail: (1) a multitude of people heard the gospel taught that morning and were given the opportunity to be saved. (2) We see the great love and mercy that God was extending to the Jewish leaders who were responsible for persecuting the Apostles, and killing Jesus. This miraculous deliverance testified to the Jewish leaders, and to everyone, of the awesome power of God—that Jesus Christ and His resurrection is true and God was working through the Apostles. However, the Jewish leaders turned a blind eye to this miracle deliverance, just as they had ignored all the other miracles the Apostles had performed in the streets of Jerusalem by the name of Jesus Christ.
My major point here is that to the utmost Jesus saves! Our God is long suffering and does not want anyone to perish. (II Peter 3:9) God extends his great love and mercy to the maximum extent possible to reach every man’s heart to turn to Him through repentance and acknowledgment that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Yes, God’s love and mercy even extends to cold and closed hearted people who hate Jesus Christ and seek to persecute and destroy His followers for preaching the gospel. As such, we should never be afraid or ashamed when people persecute us for the gospel’s sake. Instead, we must rejoice mightily and be glad that God is using us to witness to the lost. There is something special to be gained by your suffering for the cause of God, and He will reward you with supernatural favors if you faint not! (Matthew 5: 10-12)