Opportunity Is Knocking

Don't you know that when opportunity comes to the door,

opposition comes with it. Don't you know that sometimes they

are one and the same. This is what I'm learning.

I'm learning that a lot of times, when I open

the door and see something that I would love to

send away in my life, a challenge that I wish

didn't come, it is actually the opportunity for God to

teach me to trust him. Kind Of hard to say

amen to that, because usually you want God to knock

and come in with a flower bouquet. It's kind of

hard to know that it's God knocking unless you walk

with him a while, and then you hear the knock

the next time, and you know, whatever is at the door,

even if God.

Didn't send it, he's going to use it.

And the church is praying for Peter, but they're still

broken hearted about James. Did you notice that part in

the passage where it said that he had just killed

James with the sword. That means he cut his head off.

That means that he was coming after the head. He

was trying to stop the movement of Christianity because he

knew it would appease the Jews, and he knew that

in this great time of opportunity for the church.

It was a time of opportunity for him to advance

his human agenda. And so the church is praying.

That the church is knocking on the door of heaven

asking God to do something in the situation, and Peter

is in prison while the church is praying. Now, one

interesting thing about this text, Is it right if I

teach the Bible for a minute?

Okay?

Because it's interesting to note that that Peter has no

idea at this moment what the people are doing, and

the people have no idea how Peter is doing. Sometimes

you've got to pray by faith, not even knowing if

it's doing any good in your life. And sometimes the

proof that your prayers and faith are working is that

the opposition increases. Good God, help me get this message

to the back row, because somebody has been wondering, is

God even still with me?

Is God using me? Is this even worth it?

But there's something about that that should let you know

that if the devil showed up in the first place,

there must be something important, and he must be defending

his territory.

Or else he wouldn't bother with you. So Peter was

in prison, but the church was praying.

And and now would be a good time for us

to check on Peter, right because we got to see

we know what the church was doing. They gathered together

for prayer meeting, and they got in there and they

started joining their faith together. And Peter is in prison,

and he's just hours away from his trial, and if

it turns out the same way that James has turned out,

this will be his last night on the planet. So

it's that kind of pressure. Let's see what he's doing.

Let's check in on a nannycam on Peter the Rock.

Let's check on Peter on the eve of his potential

probable execution.

Verse six.

The night before pard was to bring him to trial,

Peter was, I need somebody to fix that in the back.

That can't be with the verses, How are you going

to sleep when your life is on the line? Y'all

need to fix that verse because that's not That's not possible,

is it.

The night before Herod was to bring him to trial,

Peter was what.

Pacing, praising, praying, how can you sleep at a time

like this?

That really got me because I did not expect Peter

to be sleeping at this moment.

I did not there is Let me tell you this

right now, and this is just a confession. There is

not enough lu NESSA in the pharmacy. There is not

enough ambient on earth.

That I could sleep when I have to, especially after

what happened to James, especially knowing this might not turn

out well. We prayed for James, and look what happened

to him, And now they got me too.

And Peter put it back up.

There is sleeping between two. So how about that? Have

you ever had to sleep in between? Come on, y'all,

I came back to preach. I didn't come back to

have coffee. Have you ever had to sleep between? I

don't know how this is gonna turn out, but I

got to sleep in between.

I gotta sleep.

I don't really know if this situation is gonna get

better or what the doctor's gonna say next time I

go back, but I got to sleep in between. I'm

in a tight space and I don't know if I'm

gonna make it out, but I got to sleep in between.

Peter was sleeping in between. No, He's come a long way,

hasn't he? Remember when Jesus was telling Peter, you gotta

go to the cross and Peter's arguing with Jesus, and

he's trying.

To tell Jesus, you'll never go to the cross. He's

trying to give Jesus his plan for Jesus. He's trying

to create the.

Itinerary for the son of God who created time. And

now he's sleeping. What did Peter know that enabled him

to sleep between two soldiers? He was sleeping. Put it

back up. I'm not done with a verse. He was

sleeping in the greatest trial of his life. He was

sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains. Some scholars

think that Lil Wayne could have been in the next cell.

A lot of people were there, and Sentry stood guard

at the entrance, and so he was sleeping.

What did he know that enabled him to sleep in between?

What did he maybe suggestion?

He wasn't sleeping because of something he knew with his senses.

Maybe he was sleeping because of something that he saw

in his spirit. And maybe what he saw in his

spirit was a direct reflection of an experience that he

had with Jesus. Because remember in the boat one night

when they were going to the other side. But then

in between where they were and where they were going,

they hit a storm.

Sometimes you set.

Out for the destination, but it's in between that your

faith has to kick in to believe God. And when

all the disciples were straining, the Bible says they were

straining at the ore. They were straining against the wind,

they were straining against the waves. And while they were straining,

they went down to check out Jesus, and they were

surprised to find out that while they were straining, Jesus sleeping.

So maybe when Peter found out, they might kill me.

He decided, there's only so much I can do about this,

and when I get to the other side, I'm gonna

need all my strength. So I'm gonna sleep in between.

This is God's word for somebody. God said, I can

do more while you're sleeping than you can while you're straining.

And if you will get out of the way and

out of your flesh and out of your anxiety, the

disciple said.

Jesus, don't you care we're in this storm.

Jesus said, this is how I fight mine.

My friend Joseph Prince says, rip rest is power.

And so it's a beautiful picture that he would sleep

and trust God. When Herod comes knocking Peter's faith answers

the door.

Coming to get you, Peter, but he's learned something.

He's learned that obedience always comes before freedom. Now I

mentioned this because I see a lot of people on Instagram.

I haven't been on Instagram in two months, y'all. And

let me tell you, it's amazing. The birds are chirping,

the sun is beautiful.

You'd be shocked how nice the world looks when there's

not a screen in front of your face, a pretend universe.

Just a thought. I've had a great summer.

I got ten I detox from everybody's pretend life, and

I'm just happy about it. And then, and then, and

then Peter has to do something that's very difficult to

do because you know, we all we all want opportunities

to come our way, and opportunities are weird because they

don't show up looking like opportunities.

When they knock, they just look like obedience.

Everybody will say like I want to kill my Goliath.

I want to take down my giant. You know, in

church we say stuff like that. I probably don't say

that if they don't go to church. But you know, well,

Goliath didn't come knocking on David's door.

Hey David, I'm Deliath. If you come me today, you

can become a king of Israel and have great status.

And well, no, that's it.

David's dad came to his door, say get this bread

down to your brothers, because when opportunity knocks, it just

looks like obedience. That's all it looks like.

It doesn't look like something big, it doesn't look like

something extraordinary.

Now Peter's about to get a big miracle, but I

want you to notice how he gets it, and most

of us would not have gotten it because spoiler alert,

Peter's about to get out of jail.

He's not going to die. He's still got work to do.

Peter's not going to die in this moment because God

still has a purpose, because Peter is invincible until God's

purpose for him is completed. And so Peter's not going

to die in this but he doesn't know that yet.

As far as he knows, it's over. But he's sleeping.

And so while he's asleep, look at verse six and

how God God interrupts his what.

Do you call it?

Rim cycle? Because Peter's in a deep sleep. I'll show

you in a minute's in the text Bible is so

fun to read. I want you to read it between Sundays.

It's real good. It's real good without me here talking

about it. It's real good. So it says, suddenly verse seven,

just like in a deep sleep bow, suddenly an angel

of the Lord appeared. And he didn't not He just

came in and and a light shone in the cell.

He struck Peter on the side and woke him up.

And I guess Peter wasn't all the way awake because

the angel said, quick get up, and the chains fell

off Peter's wrists.

Now, please leave that verse on the screen because I

want to show something.

It said, quick get up, and the chains fell off

Peter's wrist. Now the natural sequence would be the chains

fell off Peter's wrist, and so he got up, But.

It doesn't say that.

It says that the angel told him get up, and

when he got up, the chains.

Fell off his wrist. You see it.

So we think the chains are gonna fall off, and

it's gonna get easier, and we're gonna feel free and

then we can obey God.

No, you get up and then chains.

Fall off, because obedience comes before freedom. You got to

answer the door and knock, even if you're not.

Sure it's God.

You gotta be kind to people, even if you don't

know if they're gonna do anything for you in return.

So obedience that creates freedom, freedom from what, freedom from

needing to know the outcome before you take the step.

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