Peaceful Sleep by Ben Fronczek

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Peaceful Sleep

Acts 12 Peaceful Sleep   

How does a really, really stressful situation affect you? Some people eat more. Some people can’t eat at all. Some people get gittery they ramble and pace. Some cry. Some people get sick. In most cases if a situation is real bad we have a hard time sleeping. Some need to be medicated or even hospitalized.

If this afternoon you got a pain in your chest and you went to the emergency room and they told you have a problem with your heart and they have to perform emergency surgery tomorrow, but your chance for survival is poor, how well do you think you’d sleep tonight. Probably not very well if at all. Yet some people have no fear at all. I’m not talking about being macho, but rather some can sleep like a baby even in times of trouble because they are at peace and feel secure no matter what.

That is what our story is about today. Over the past two weeks we’ve looked at some lessons  in Acts chapter 12. First of all we read that James, the brother of John, had been killed by Herod. James was one of Jesus’ closest friends along with Peter and John. They were labeled ‘the inner circle’ because we see them together with Jesus so much. He was Jesus’ friend. And then Peter was arrested next.

The villain’s name was Herod. He was a ruthless leader who wanted nothing more than to win popularity. It seems as though he tried to buddy up with those who could give him more power and he was willing to exterminate all of his enemies just to gain a few more votes.

Herod came from a long line of ruthless leaders. His grandfather, Herod the Great was so barbarous history tells us that he executed one of his wives, her mother, and three of his sons. Shortly before his death, he lured prominent Jewish leaders to Jericho where he had them put into prison. He knew the people were not going to shed many tears when he died, so he ordered that when he died these Jewish leaders were to be killed as well. As a demonstration of their lack of respect for this cruel king, no one followed through with his order. Probably his most heinous crimes was the killing of all the male children near Bethlehem (as seen in Matthew 2:16) in order to try to get rid of the baby Jesus.

The Herod we are looking at this morning is the grandson of Herod the Great. Herod Agrippa I, reigned from 37 A.D. to 44 A.D. and he followed in the footsteps of his grandfather and also brought terror into the hearts of the people. He was a powerful man, but he knew in his heart that he wasn’t trusted or admired by the Romans or Jews. One way he tried to get in the good graces of the Jewish people was to persecute the Christians whom the Jews hated.

As we come back to this portion of Scripture today, we find that Herod Agrippa had already had James the brother of John put to death by the sword. He then ordered the arrest of Simon Peter to try and gain further approval of the Jewish leaders. There was a very good reason why Herod Agrippa chose the week of celebration following the Passover — there were lots of Jewish people present to see his act of defiance towards the Christians. It was an act of alliance with the Jews!

There is little doubt that Herod planned on having Peter executed as soon as the celebration ended. Herod wanted to make sure that Peter did not escape so he had Peter guarded by four squads of soldiers. The four squads of guards consisted of four guards each and they would rotate on their watch around the clock. I’m sure that Herod though that there was no possible way for Peter to escape.

At any given time there were two men chained to Peter as he sat in his locked cell. And there were two other guards stationed outside the cell just in case he got by the two guards chained to him.

I think we could say that it seem like a pretty hopeless situation for Peter. James had been killed and the guards would assure that Herod’s bloodthirsty appetite would be quenched again with Peter’s blood.

But what we actually find happening in this story is I think is quite interesting:   Acts 12:4-7 “After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.  Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.”

The very night before Peter was to be tried and more than likely killed, what do we find Peter doing? We read here that he was sound asleep; sleeping like a baby! I don’t know about you but if that was me I would have probably been a nervous wreck. Sleep would have been the last thing I would have been doing. I would have been sick with anxiety.  Yet Luke notes that Peter is just sawing wood.

I believe this is the sleep of complete confidence, even peace. This is a blessed peace that comes from a knowledge and trust in one’s Lord.

There are a number of reasons why Peter may have been so calm and able to sleep that night. Maybe Peter slept like this because the Church was diligently praying for him.

Or maybe he simply knew he wasn’t going to die the next day. The Lord Jesus Himself had plainly told him (in John 21:18) that he would die a martyr’s death, but not until he was an old man, John 12:18-19 says         “Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress
you and lead you where you do not want to go.”  Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” “

The phrase “stretch out your hands” (v. 18) was a euphemistic reference to crucifixion in the Roman world. Since Peter wasn’t old yet maybe he believed he wasn’t going to die yet. Maybe Peter slept so peacefully because he was resting confidently on the precious promises of Jesus. Maybe he remember what Jesus told him and turned the whole situation over to his Lord

He didn’t know how or when God would deliver him, but maybe he believed that deliverance was coming. And besides, this wasn’t the first time he was imprisoned. In Acts 5 we read that Jews had already arrested the Apostles once before and an angel had opened the door of the jail and brought them out.   Peter was not DOUBTING IN THE DARK WHAT GOD HAS PROMISED HIM THE LIGHT.

And even if Peter did not remember what Jesus had promised him that day, that he would live to be an old man, I truly believe that Peter faith in God gave him some peace of mind.

Through the ages there is an amazing blessing that faithful Christians have been able to lay hold of:  In the worst of times, even when believers were about to be persecuted or martyred for their beliefs, men and women found peace, and courage, and a sense of security and confidence in Jesus.

If you hold Jesus close to you, when the darkest times comes, He promise to hold on to you and set your mind at ease, and give you peace.

In John 14:27 Jesus told his closest disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Paul wrote to this to the Philippian church, while in prison Phil 4:4-7  “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

And Paul wrote this to the Thessalonian church, “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!”     2 Thess. 3:16

Our Lord is the Lord of peace. He is the prince of peace.

Peter is not anxious, nor alarmed. He was completely resting in, and trusting in his Lord.

Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “He Himself is our peace” (Ephesians 2:14). Once you really understand this you too can have kind of peace no matter what storms sweep over the horizon.

Jesus said,  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  (John 16:33)

So how can we get to that point where our relationship is that good with our Lord whereby we can have that confidence, that sense of peace even when everything around us starts to fall apart?

Like any other trusting relationship it’s a relationship that one needs to work at, and develop, and nurture. Just because you may be saved by the blood of Jesus and you are a Christian, it doesn’t mean that you will automatically experience the degree of peace that Peter did that night. By this point in life, Peter had learned how to give himself fully to the Lord. I believe he trusted Jesus more than anything and more than anyone else on the planet including himself.    Can you say the same?

Even after Jesus left the disciples I believe Peter continued to nurture and work on his relationship with Him.  How? By continuing to trust in Him no matter what. By talking to Him in Prayer. By serving Him faithfully and by loving and helping the other disciples in His name.   And so too, we need to realize that this is a formula for us learn from and follow.

Christianity is not just about religion and following a set of rules, rather it about developing a loving relationship with our Lord and God, and with one another. In doing so, a by-product of that, is you will find a peace and confidence that surpasses everyone else’s understanding;  even when things seem like they are at their worst. So practice His presence, talk to Him, fill yourself with positive spiritual things like good spiritual music, good sermons & lessons, good spiritual literature. Practice His presence..

I challenge you to work on your relationship with our Lord……. And you to will find some peaceful sleep.