Peace That Can Free You From Fear of Death (Acts 12:1-25)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” May you receive the unprecedented and never-repeated grace today. The title of today’s message and the content of the Word is, “Peace That Can Free You From Fear of Death.” If my heart is stolen away, then I will lose everything, and if we can protect our heart, then that is everything. But we cannot control our heart, why is that? Because there is somebody who is stealing my heart away. This is the invisible Satan who enters into our hearts and steal it away. Our hearts control our thoughts and our emotions and changes our actions. No matter how correctly I want to live, if we cannot protect our hearts, we cannot control it.
Peter was in prison and he was supposed to be executed the next day, but his heart wasn’t stolen away. In America today, there are many cases of mental illness and addiction. There are the invisible mental illnesses but there are also the invisible mental illnesses that people struggle with on their own. Simply put, they cannot control themselves. Their thoughts and emotions are continuously shaking. We cannot solve this with money or success, why? When God created mankind, God created humans in the image of God. This means that human beings were created as spiritual beings. It means humans have a spirit. Yes, we have our minds, but we also have a spiritual part. Yes, the physical body is important, but the foundation or fundamental thing is the spirit, because all of our mind and our body has to be set on the foundation of our spirit. However, if our spirit is at a zero-state and we try to build our mind or body on top of that, one day, we will have spiritual problems. Many of the problems we see today come from the invisible spiritual problems.
In today’s scripture, Peter would be executed the next day. For the average person, if they are sentenced to execution, they will soil themselves, and the reason is because people want to preserve their lives. But if we’re at the danger of losing our lives, we’ll lose everything. Who is the strongest person in a prison? The people who are sentenced to death, because they are living just to die. Everybody else is in prison so that they can live, and they are imprisoned with the hope of one day being released, but for people with a life sentence, they are living in prison just to die. And when people realize they have no hope for the future, there’s no stopping them.
The reason we have so many problems in our lives is really because of our fear, and we don’t want to die. If I make a financial failure, then will I die? I am suffering from depression; am I going to die? What happens if I lose all of my finances? And all of these fears are really coming from the fear of death. If you come to the point where you accept death, then most of your problems will go away.
I’m sorry to use unhoused people as an example, but such people cross the street without regard to the traffic signal, and it’s a sign that they do not value their lives. Whether they live like this or like that, it’s the same for them, so they cross the street without looking. But we cannot live like that because we value our lives. Our lives are important but how could we live without shaking? If we have depression, it means our emotions are shaking. If we are stressed out, it means that our hearts are oppressed. If I have anger inside of me, it means I’m being moved and controlled by something. As a result, the only thing we can turn to are the things we are addicted to, like drinking or smoking. We try to put ourselves into the state of ecstasy to try to get rid of that problem, that’s how we fall into addiction. But the source of all of these problems is coming from a lack of spiritual strength.
However, if we have the faith that the Triune God is my Lord, planted deep inside us, then we can overcome many different things. Simply put, “me,” I do not have strength. So, we cannot overcome stress and I cannot overcome suicidal ideations, and I cannot overcome my fear. Then, is there a way to overcome these? Not with humans. God Himself must enter into us. When I believe that the Creator God, Who created me, is holding onto my life, then I am set free from fear, and there’s no reason to try to quit your addiction because you’ll naturally stop. The things that you used to be so sensitive about, you’ll one day be set free. People who are always so angry, that will start to go away, because we have a fundamental strength. The fundamental strength is talking about our spiritual strength. We have a fundamental spiritual power that comes from believing in God, and this fundamental power gives my mind more power, and then my mental power gives my physical body and my life more power.
It says in today’s scripture that Peter was about to be executed the next day, but he was sleeping in prison. Even if somebody hurts our feelings a little bit, we’ll lose sleep over that, even if something is going to happen the next day, we’ll lose sleep. But Peter was to be executed the next day; how could he sleep in prison? We must restore that–this is something that cannot be bought with money, even if you succeed, even the president cannot control that. There are people in the middle of those two extremes that cannot control it.
Who is the strongest person? The person who can overcome their own heart. No matter what happens to them, they are not affected nor fazed. The one who has this mystery has true success. That kind of person needs to study and work and succeed for that to have value.
1. Forces that block the gospel
1) Herod
(1) Execution of James (Acts 12:2)
Why was Peter in prison to begin with? There was King Herod who was reigning over Israel, and he executed James.
(2) Pleased the Jews (Acts 12:3)
(3) Arrested Peter for execution (Acts 12:4)
When he executed James, he saw that the Israelites approved of this, the reason the Israelites were pleased about the execution is because the Jews crucified Jesus Christ, but the Christians are going around saying that Jesus is the Messiah and He is risen, so there were many Jewish people who were persecuting or splitting up the Christians. King Herod knew that, so he was using this for political gain.
2) Jews
(1) Crucified Jesus on the cross
(2) Proclaimed that Jesus has resurrected
(3) Many Jews converted to Christianity
King Herod knew that in order to gain political power and approval, he had to persecute and kill Christians.
3) Spiritual stream of King Herod’s family line
(1) King Herod the Great – Tried to kill Jesus (Mt. 2:13)
(2) King Herod (son) — Killed John the Baptist (Mt. 14:10)
(3) King Herod (grandson) — Killed James (Acts 12:2)
There were three people named “King Herod,” and they’re all in the same family. The first King Herod the Tetrarch was reigning when Jesus Christ was first born, and he tried to kill Jesus as a baby. His son was also named King Herod, and that was the King Herod who executed John the Baptist. King Herod in today’s scripture is the grandson of the first King Herod. He executed James and is trying to execute Peter.
Why is it that the grandfather, the father, and now the son are killing people? Do you think that’s what they learned in school? These things just happened, they have the same spiritual DNA. Even if they received the education not to kill people in school, they cannot change their spiritual DNA. If the father has an addiction, then the son will also likely have an addiction. If the parents have a mental illness, then their children will also likely have mental illness. We call that the spiritual stream. We have spiritual problems, but they are not visible to the eyes, so people do not know about them, but without a doubt, they are inside of us.
2. Gospel that cannot be blocked
1) Prison – Waited for death
(1) Peter sleeping (Acts 12:6)
My child is like me because I gave birth to my child, and my child even has my mental state. But that’s not the only thing. My child has my exact spiritual state. That spiritual stream gets relayed. But because Peter has that fundamental spiritual power, he is not shaken in his circumstances.
(2) One with fundamental power (Jn. 14:27, Phil. 4:6-7)
In order to have this fundamental power, there is something we need to know first. What exactly does Jesus Christ have to do with me? These problems are not solved just by going to church; we have to know what Jesus Christ has to do with me. In order to know the answer to that question, I must know my own state. “Oh, I’m the president of a company,” or, “I’m a doctor,” that is not who you are; that’s just your title. Who is the real “me”? Who exactly am I? Is my name who I am? No. Who is the “me” who is of the deepest parts of me? I was born with the spiritual state that was separated from God because of Original Sin, seized and controlled by Satan. I was born spiritually separated from God, and my spirit was dead. But then, after nine months in my mother’s womb, I was born, and the spiritual state of the mother gets relayed to the child.
The first four years of a child’s life determines their spiritual problems for the rest of their lives, and as we mature and grow, we get scars from our family and parents, and we get scars from our school. These do not just stay still. If we leave those scars alone, then we cannot grow spiritually. If you have these scars, then evil spirits enter in through them and stop your spiritual growth. That’s when people keep acting in ways we cannot understand, and that’s why we’re dragged in directions we don’t even want, and act in ways we don’t want. When that spiritual state of mine is met with external circumstances, then one day, I will explode.
People do not commit suicide for no reason; people do not commit shootings and mass murders for no reason. The things inside of them are crawling out and exploding, but they’re not even aware of it. We cannot solve this through money nor through education; this is why we need Christ. Jesus Christ completed all the problems of my Original Sin and Satan’s authority on the cross. Now Jesus is with me as life and all of my problems are finished.
What were the problems of my past? I had Original Sin, which is the state of being the master of my own life. Original Sin is only thinking of and knowing about myself. That doesn’t mean that somebody is selfish; it means they cannot escape from their own thoughts, so everything they do is according to their own thoughts. The next thing they race towards is, “What I want.” Even the people I meet, they have to be of benefit to me. So, who do I meet with? The people who understand me or those who can benefit each other. Is that a bad thing? That is a state that does not have God.
We are spiritually dead and living so diligently, so Satan controls that person freely. Even if you choose a religion or a church, it doesn’t work. It doesn’t work even if you go to church for decades. Does it work if you meditate like the world does? That’s even worse. I have to accept and believe in the fact that Jesus Christ finished the problems of my past, and accept this as my life. The “me” in the past where I was my own god must die on the cross. I must change into a new “me” whom God has made. I must change into a new “me” where Christ is my Lord.
From that point on, Christ is my Lord. It’s no longer about my thoughts, but now, it’s the Lord’s thoughts. When many thoughts enter your mind, change them into prayer to God, then what happens? Then you’ll keep receiving God’s peace. Yes, you will be stressed, but you change that stress into prayer. Yes, you might get depressed, and you change that into prayer to God. The way to change all of your problems into blessings is prayer. If you face a problem, change all of that into prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Then, your problems will change into blessings. This is the name of Christ. That Christ is inside of me as life. No disaster, no authority of Satan can ever overcome the Christ in me. No repetitive problems of my family line can overcome the Christ in me.
(3) One with a fundamental calling (Jn. 21:15-18, Acts 1:18)
Now, the reason why I live is to testify of this gospel. For the gospel, I work, run my business, and study. Then, it’s no longer just my business or job; it is my job to proclaim the gospel, then my business belongs to the Lord. Then, everything that happens in my business may return to the Lord in prayer. Why is it that Peter was able to sleep and not be affected by his death sentence? Because he was within this fundamental power. This is invisible. It’s a mystery. The Christians have this mystery. Then, any problem you’re thinking about is not really a problem. Mental problems, your addiction problems, all of that goes away in your faith, and that must be relayed to your children. . If you’re not able to restore this most fundamental thing and relay it to your children, you’ll have all this success and then crumble.
2) Remnants who surpass death
(1) Daniel (Dan. 6:10)
(2) Three friends (Dan. 3:16-18)
(3) Esther (Esther 4:16)
Even in the Old Testament, there were people who overcame the fear of death. Daniel was also about to be executed because it was illegal for him to pray to God, facing Jerusalem, but despite that fact, he kept praying three times a day. He was not influenced by the decree, he was not influenced by peoples’ words; what was he influenced by? He was influenced by God’s words. Should I listen to the words of people or listen to the words of God Who created the universe? People shake because they listen to the words of people. If you’re on a plane or a boat and you want to get to a destination, there is a navigation route. That is the journey of our lives. We don’t just go wherever we want. If you do go wherever you want, one day, you’ll fall; that is sin. But for a Christian, we have programmed the words of Christ, and that is how we head to our destination. Then, as we go, even if we are met with storms or turbulence, the reason we do not shake, of course, is because we have His Word. We do not follow our circumstances or the words of people; we follow the words of Christ all the way to the destination. We go there in faith, that’s why we don’t shake. If we have a mental problem, that means we are shaking. The reason we have no choice but to have addiction is because we are shaking. If our heart does not shake, then that is a blessing. A state that does not shake, and protecting our heart is so important. If the Triune God is in my heart and that is what I go forward with, there is no problem.
I’m telling you this as a witness with my own evidence. In the past, when I woke up in the morning, I was angry and I see that in my daughter as well, even though I never taught her that. That is my spiritual state relayed to her. But as I kept on waking up, listening to the Word of God and praying, over time, that anger went away. I shared this with another pastor, and this pastor shared he used to wake up depressed and shared that his grandfather was like that. This is the invisible, spiritual stream. There are some people who wake up in the morning, powerless, not wanting to do anything. There’s nothing causing this; it is just the natural way for them. Why is that? All of these happen because our hearts lack spiritual strength. Because our physical body is important, we exercise and we eat a good diet, because we know our physical body is important. Because we know our mind is important, we give ourselves rest and we try to consume good knowledge, and we also go through programs to try to strengthen our mental power, but for our spirit, we do nothing. We face all of these problems but we don’t know why. If there is a problem that I caused, I can fix the problem, but problems happen regardless. Those problems are happening because of our spiritual state.
If you take a film photograph, the image will be imprinted onto the film, and when it’s developed, you can see it on the photo. We cannot see our spiritual state, but how is it revealed? It’s revealed visibly, so even if you try to tackle all of the visible results, it is only a repeating cycle. We must first correct our invisible spiritual state for all of our visible problems to go away. If our spiritual state has power from worship, from the Word of God, then the visible results will also change. We call that, “healing.” We also call that the Fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and we’ll change to the point where everyone around us will notice.
The people who are closest in my life know how much I’ve changed, including my family and friends. When our spirit changes, everything else changes, too. In the past, around this time, I should be nursing a hangover because I was drinking last night, that was a repeating cycle in my life. Today is Sunday, right? So, in the past, I would wake up late in the afternoon Sunday, and in the afternoon, go out drinking again. Tomorrow is Monday, “I don’t want to wake up in the morning, but oh, I have to go to work,” that is how I used to live, why? That was my spiritual state. But as I kept on listening to God’s Word and received God’s grace, one day I changed and the anger I woke up with went away. I see that in my daughter as well. Her anger in the morning is going away.
3) God’s angels
(1) Freed Peter from his chains (Acts 12:7-10)
(2) Escaped from prison (Acts 12:11)
(3) Throne – Answers to prayer (Rev. 8:3-5)
3. Spread of the gospel
1) Jerusalem Church
(1) Prayed for Peter earnestly (Acts 12:5)
Peter had no fear in prison, sentenced to death; may you and I also restore that blessing. The Church was praying earnestly for Peter, because the members of the Early Church were also risking their lives to pray. Many of us pray for ourselves, but we must also pray for others. Do you know what happens when you pray? You need to know what happens when you pray. If I’m a saved child of God, I receive God’s Word and resolve in my heart, and in that moment, the Lord has heard that from the Throne. Around us are angels, and those angels take our prayers to God immediately. Then, the Lord receives our prayers and sends His angels with answers.
But there are also forces of Satan blocking those answers. There is a battle between the forces of darkness and the angels of the Lord. The time when that battle ends is the time when we receive those answers.
(2) Contents of the church’s prayer (Acts 4:28-30)
Then, what should we pray for? First, we can pray for anything, everything into prayer, but there is a separate prayer that is bound to receive answers. If we pray with the thing God promised us, then the answers are guaranteed. During this worship, as we’ve been listening to God’s Word, if your heart agrees with something, that will receive answers. The moment you agree with the word that you received during worship, God is already sending you answers for Monday through Saturday. That is answers to prayer. If you don’t know the spiritual world, you may think you have to earnestly beg and repeatedly pray, but that’s not the case; if you pray holding onto the promise God gave you, then even if you stay still, that answer will come to you naturally.
(3) Filling of the Holy Spirit – Proclaiming the Word of God (Acts 4:31)
The members of the Early Church who were praying earnestly for Peter were not praying for him to be released safely; they were praying for him to testify ot the Word of God. God gave an answer to send the angel to free him from his shackles and set him free. When you pray as well, you will be set free from the chains that are binding you. When you are seized by your depression or by the problems of your heart, you will be set free from those. The anger that used to bind you, you’ll be set free. These are the things that happen when you pray in the name of Jesus Christ. If you know the spiritual world, you’ll know how important worship is. Your life is determined based on worship, today.
2) Unbelievable answers
(1) Did not believe (Acts 12:15)
(2) Thought it was Peter’s angel (Acts 12:15)
(3) Saw Peter and were amazed (Acts 12:16)
Peter himself does not realize whether this is reality or if he’s dreaming. Eventually when he’s out on the street, he realizes, “Oh, this is happening,” so he goes to the house where they are meeting and one sister comes to the door and says it’s Peter, but they do not believe her. Peter eventually goes into the house and tells them what God has done, but being released from prison is not the main point. The main point is that the mission of proclaiming the gospel that has been given to us cannot be blocked by prison or death. God will even send his angels to open the way.
3) Spread of the Word movement
(1) Herod’s death (Acts 12:23)
What happened to King Herod who was trying to kill Peter? The Bible says that, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down and he was eaten by worms and died.
(2) Word increased and multiplied (Acts 12:24)
Then, the Word continued to increase and flourish. The main point of our lives, more so than our environment or circumstances is the Word of God, the gospel, continuously spreading and flourishing before us.
(3) Barnabas and Paul – Took Mark to the Antioch Church (Acts 12:26)
Then, in the end of Acts 12, Barnabas and Paul gather their offering together and return to Jerusalem with Mark.
Conclusion
1. Morning – Time to conquer myself and the universe
We’ll come to the conclusion. We must be able to conquer or overcome ourselves. Why must we overcome ourselves? Because I cannot live my life by myself. My life will not work out with the old “me” that was without God, with Original Sin. We must conquer ourselves, with what? We conquer ourselves with the power that comes with the Word of Jesus’ promise. Why? Because Christ is already living inside of me, so we must change into that new “me.”
2. Daytime – Time to conquer the world
During the daytime, we must conquer the fields of the world. In the fields of the world, there are forces trying to knock you down. How can you overcome that? You conquer them by saving them. If you save people, then the darkness flees. Instead of killing other people to gain more success, if you save other people, then blessings follow you.
3. Night – Time to conquer the future
At night time, there is the next day waiting for you, and you’ll have your own fears and worries for the next day. So, at night, you must conquer the future with the Word of God. I bless you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that just like Peter, you may have the pace of Jeus Christ within you and it may be relayed to other people so you may not be affected by your circumstances.
Message Prayer
Let us pray together holding onto the Word we have received. Answers are already on their way. Let us pray together.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. We have received everything from You, Lord, and we return one portion of that as offering. Everywhere it is used, may lives be saved, may the works of healing arise, may the churches be raised, and may You bless the hands that have given the offering so that we may give the hope of God to the hopeless. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray, amen.
God, we thank You. We pray the peace of Christ will be overflowing in Tom Kim. We pray that you will use him as an ambassador of Christ to spread the peace of Christ to the many people around him. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray, amen.
Closing Prayer and Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, working, guidance, and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be upon the heads of all of the people of God who desire to enjoy the fundamental spiritual power of Christ and to share the peace of Christ with those around them, be upon their businesses, fields, and church, be with them now and forevermore always, amen.
May you overflow with peace in Christ!