UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES
We resume our excursion through the Book of Acts, here again are Dave and Tom:
Tom:
Dave, we left off with Verse 15, but if I read it as it says here: “And they said unto her, Thou art mad.” Some of our listeners are going to say, Well, what’s that all about, so I guess we do have to back up a little bit. So, what would she be mad about?
Dave:
Well, Peter has been in prison, he’s been miraculously delivered by an angel. I mean, it’s an amazing story, but they’ve had a prayer meeting going on.
Tom:
Right, a serious prayer meeting.
Dave:
Yes, and I’ve heard people so often say, and Jesus did say, According to your faith, be it unto you, but God isn’t bound by that.
Tom:
Thank God that he’s not.
Dave:
Right, on the other hand--- see, the Bible gives you a lot to think about---on the other hand, of Jesus when he was there in Nazareth it says he couldn’t do mighty miracles because of their unbelief. Now I don’t think it means that he was incapable of doing them, but he would not reward their lack of faith.
Tom:
You know what, Dave, I would push it a little farther. I don’t even think they came to him, because they said, O, we know him, why should we bother going to him, and so on.
Dave:
But he did speak in the synagogue there and they were there.
Tom:
But still, you know, this is the son of Joseph, come on, he’s just a carpenter, what does he know.
Dave:
Right, right. So when it says he could not do many mighty miracles it doesn’t mean he wasn’t capable of it, because if he’s going to reward faith, he’s not going to do it. But I’ve heard so many people say, Well, you’ve got to really believe, and it does say that we are supposed to believe. But here is the case, a classic case where these people---they’ve got a big prayer meeting going on, and I think they are very earnest about it. Peter is going to get killed, he’s in prison. The angel delivers him and he comes to the very house where they are having the prayer meeting, knocks at the gate and a maid comes to let him in, and she is so shocked.
Tom:
She hears his voice, he’s knocking and says, It’s Peter, come on, let me in.
Dave:
She is so excited and she runs to tell everybody. Instead of letting him in she runs to tell everybody, Peter was released. And that’s when you are picking it up.
Tom:
And they said unto her, Thou art mad, but she constantly affirmed---
Dave:
That’s real faith, Tom.
Tom:
Yeah, right. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. The they said: It is his angel. Now Dave, they need to---well, wait a minute, I was going to get on that but the scripture does say we do have ministering angels, you know, before we come to know him, and I think the Bible teaches about guardian angels, what do you think?
Dave:
Well Tom, I think I just had another encounter with an angel over the weekend, but we won’t talk about it on this program, maybe I’ll tell you in private. But I remember---I think the first time, I was about five or six years old and I stepped off the curb in my town where I was raised, Riverside, California, and someone picked me up and pulled me back. And just Swoosh, around that corner came a car that would have killed me. Now there was nobody there, and I remember as a little boy and wondering about this. But like Samuel, you know, he heard God speak and then he doesn’t quite understand it. I can remember when—well no, I can’t go into the details, a few encounters like that, but we’re not trying to have encounters with angels, we trust the Lord. But it does say, His angels are ministering spirits sent to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation.
Tom:
And it has to be God’s purpose in this, because people who we’ve known in the Lord, the Lord has allowed accidents to happen, certain things to take place, you know, took them home, and so on, all for his purpose which we don’t fully understand.
Dave:
So, as we mentioned last week, an angel rescued Peter this time, but Peter is going to get killed, no angel is going to rescue him.
Tom:
James was rescued, wasn’t he, and then Herod ends up killing James later.
Dave:
And Jesus said: I could call twelve legions of angels, you know, when they are about to crucify him, wipe you guys out, but that was not God’s will, and that was not the way it should be. So we trust God for his will. But anyway, they certainly don’t have any faith. They are not believing it’s going to happen even when it happened.
Tom:
Verse 16: “But Peter continued knocking:---
Dave:
He must have been a little frustrated.
Tom:
Well, he didn’t know who was after him, as well, he wanted to get inside of that wall. “And when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.” Now that’s got an underscore there, a lack of faith. Wait a minute, we were praying for this, weren’t we, and God has delivered? “But he beckoned 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 to James, and to the brethren. And he departed and went into another place.”
Dave:
I like the way the Bible says it, Tom, you could use a lot of words, but he departed, went into another place. In other words, he took off, got out of there as fast as he could, and he went into hiding, and with good reason. And he thought there was somebody pursuing him right away, but that didn’t happen.
Tom:
Dave, a little aside here, but we find, again, some people expect, okay, well now you’re the Lord’s and the Lord is going to use you so he’s going to watch over and protect you every step of the way, he’s going to bring about miraculous events, and we find that when Saul meets Jesus on the road to Damascus and then he becomes Paul and he is in the city of Damascus, they’ve got to get him out of there. You know, in other words, God didn’t put his supernatural protection over him, there were certain things they needed to do and there were certain places they needed to get out of at a certain time and not stay there and test the Lord in these times.
Dave:
Right, we do what we can do, and then what we can’t do, if it’s the Lord’s will, he will take care of that. So, as soon as a day as it was day---See, I think the angel or God, kept all of the soldiers. He was in the inner prison, so you wouldn’t know, walking by outside, all the gates are locked, the doors are locked, you wouldn’t know he’s not there, and I guess they kept sleeping. God caused them to sleep until it was time for him to let them wake up when Peter had gotten off to a safe place. And then it says, There was no small stir. I like that! It’s kind of down playing it, they must have been wild with fear.
Tom:
Well, their lives were on the line and they knew it.
Dave:
O, my goodness---no small stir among the soldiers! What was become of Peter? I mean, these guys cannot fathom this! When the soldier went to sleep, he is chained to Peter---the doors are all locked, probably huge keys, this is a secure place, you can’t get out of there---no way without some kind of a breakout, you need a bomb or something. And they are petrified with fear, and they are also dumbfounded. It’s not possible, or are we dreaming? And so, Herod, he wants Peter to be brought to him.
Tom:
Verse 19: “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.
Dave:
Now Tom, that brings up really a problem here. We have skeptics out there, not only skeptics but, look, these soldiers---it wasn’t really their fault that Peter escaped. Now, they are going to pay for it with their lives. That doesn’t seem right. Why doesn’t God do something to rescue them? Well, we don’t know the background of these soldiers, we don’t know how often they heard Peter proclaim the gospel, we don’t know who they were, and so forth, but apparently they had had their chance. There comes a time, God said, My Spirit will not always strive with man. I would presume, well, God gave them the witness of Creation, they knew that God existed--- I would presume that they had known enough, and that they had made a final rejection of Christ, of the gospel, and therefore, it was their time to go.
Tom:
Or, on the other hand, just as the Philippian jailer, it’s the only situation, Dave, he responded to what Paul had to say and how he reacted to his beatings and so on. Now they were singing hymns late at night, yet their backs are bleeding, I would think. So, these men locked to Peter---you can’t tell me, Dave, there wasn’t an opportunity to witness, and then when they say him relieved, that may have directed them to the Lord, who knows.
Dave:
It could be. Well Tom, we see the power of God, God can do anything that he wants to do---well, he can’t be wrong, of course, he can’t tell a lie.
Tom:
He can’t contradict himself.
Dave:
Right, of things that he can’t do. But he can save man, but only, always only through Christ. If Christ had not paid the penalty for our sins, all the power in the universe could not save us, could not forgive us. And so, there is only one way, and that is through Christ, and as you said, I can’t believe that Peter was chained between two soldiers without giving them a good dose of the gospel, message of Christ. Apparently, they reject it, whatever it is, it was their time, and coffins come in all sizes and we never know when it will be our time. So, we need to serve the Lord while we can.
Dave and Tom will continue their discussion on the topic of salvation next week, we hope you can tune in. This is Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call. Would you like to expand your knowledge of God’s Word? We offer a wide variety of items that will greatly assist you, from books and tracts to audio and video recordings, CD-ROM, our internet website and much more. For a complete list of materials, or to get a copy of today’s broadcast, write to us at POB 7019, Bend, Oregon 97708, call us at our toll free order number, 877-882-4253, that’s 877-88Bible, or visit our website at www.thebereancall.org. If you would like a copy of this broadcast on tape or compact disc, ask for Program #1306, and be sure to mention the call letters of this station. Get a pen or pencil ready, we’ll repeat our contact information in just a moment.
Next week, we’ll continue our series of programs based on Dave Hunt’s latest book, Judgment Day. and, A Potpourri of Appendices. In Religion in the News, The Comfort of Jesus Dolls, we’ll take a look at that story, and address the question: Are we really saved by faith alone? We hope you can join us. If you have questions or comments about this program we urge you to contact our offices. Search the Scriptures Daily Radio Ministry is made possible by God's grace, your prayers, and your financial support. I’m Gary Carmichael, and for Dave, Tom and everyone here at The Berean Call, I would like to thank you for tuning in, and invite you to join us again next week. In the meantime, if you desire to know God’s truth, search the scriptures daily. For more information about The Berean Call, write to us at POB 7019, Bend, Oregon 97708, call us toll free at our order number 877-882-4253, that’s 877-88Bible, or visit our website at www.thebereancall.org.
