Sermon Notes
- Big Idea: God is in control of the ups and downs: in every season he is with us, he is for us, and he is using us.
Opening
- Austin told of his family's drive up the coast from Morro Bay to Monterey: about a hundred miles of twists, turns, ups and downs, with no exits and no option but to carry on.
- Life is full of ups and downs, highs and lows, praises and struggles. Often there is no exit from a season, only the way through it.
- "You are never alone in that season of up or that season of down."
- Peter knew great highs: he confessed Jesus as the Christ, helped plant the very first church, saw Jesus' glory on the mountaintop and met him risen from the dead. In Acts 12 he is in a season of down, in prison and likely facing execution.
- When things felt out of control, the church prayed earnestly, Peter rested peacefully, and God worked to bring joy, hope, wonder and amazement.
- Main thesis: "God is in control of the ups and the downs."
- Three things are true in both seasons: God is with you, God is for you, and God is using you.
Background
- Luke is the story of Jesus. Acts is the story of the church, and "Acts is our story."
- In Acts 1:8 Jesus promised power when the Spirit came, so that his people would be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. A Spirit-filled Christian sees, serves and shares Jesus with people in their circle.
- From Acts 8 to Acts 12 the church is scattered by persecution but also sent with purpose, in the stories of Stephen, Philip, Paul and Peter.
- Herod: Herod Agrippa I, a descendant of Herod the Great, was all about power and control. He had James executed and, seeing that it pleased the Jewish people, put Peter in prison.
- "As much as Herod thinks that he can hinder God's people, he cannot hinder God's purposes."
- The church answered with earnest prayer. Austin said Peter's escape is God answering "the ordinary prayers of ordinary people."
- He reminded the church that people are praying for each of them: "this church is a praying church."
01 · Acts 12:6–7
1. God Is With Me
- Present when I need him: "On that very night," God acted, just in the nick of time. "God is never early and God is never late."
- Austin said he has prayed for some things for years, and some of those prayers are still not answered. This year one long prayer was answered on the very night he thought all hope was lost.
- His counsel: do not give up, do not grow weary, keep praying and keep asking.
- Present where I need him: An angel stood by Peter and a light shone in the cell. In Scripture an angel or a light is a sign of God's presence, as at Jesus' birth.
- God is omnipresent: "present everywhere with his whole being at all times."
- Jesus promised to be with us always (Matthew 28:20), and God says he will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
- Asleep in the cell: Some read Peter's sleep as trust in God, others as giving in to God's will. Austin suggested he may simply have been tired. "While Peter is sleeping, God is working."
- At bedtime Austin prays with his children and thanks God that he stays up so they do not have to.
02 · Acts 12:8–11
2. God Is For Me
- The text is vivid and detailed to show that Herod thinks he is in control, when God is the one in control.
- Maximum security: Two soldiers, two chains, guards at the door, and four squads of four soldiers: 16 soldiers in all.
- The chains fell off, Peter passed the first and second guard, and the iron gate opened of its own accord. No strain and no struggle. Austin compared it to a toddler climbing out of her crib at nap time: "It's child's play for God."
- There is no prison, chain, obstacle or circumstance that God cannot deliver us from.
- Not always right away: "I cannot guarantee you that God is going to immediately deliver you" from a hard situation. God may have a purpose in it, and he works all things together for the good of those who love him.
- Austin promised that God will ultimately deliver his people once that good has been accomplished.
- 1 Peter 5:10: after we have suffered "a little while," the God of all grace will himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish us. Austin saw in it the hope of heaven and help in this life as well: "I don't know how. I don't know when. But I know who."
- Romans 8:31: if God is for us, who can be against us?
- For his glory: Once the angel left him, Peter came to himself and gave God the credit: the Lord had sent his angel and rescued him. Hindsight is 20-20.
- In a season of up, pause and give God the glory with thanks. In a season of down, remember that seasons of up are coming, and do not "confuse the moment for the story because your story isn't finished yet."
03 · Acts 12:12–17
3. God Is Using Me
- Peter went to Mary's house, where the church was gathered and praying for him by name.
- Joy: Rhoda heard his voice and was overcome with joy. When God answers others' prayers for us, "we're not just the subject of their prayers, but the object of their joy."
- Hope: The praying church did not believe it was possible, which Austin called a commentary on human nature. When they opened the door they were amazed, and Peter told them how the Lord had brought him out.
- "When you share your story of how God delivers you, it brings hope to those around you." If God could deliver Peter, he can deliver me, and if he delivers me, he can deliver you.
- Coming through a season of down gives you a story that can fill others with joy and give them hope.
Closing
- Austin asked the church to speak three truths to God: "God is with me. God is for me. God is using me."
- Write them down, focus on one, and remind yourself of it each day this week.
- He prayed that the church would remember that the same power that delivered Peter is at work in their lives today.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV Bible, © 2001 by Crossway. Text Edition: 2025. Used by permission. Permissions. Prepared for this small group from the August 23, 2026 sermon; questions and applications are editorial study material.