Trinity Baptist Church

Obvious Truths from Obscure Scriptures

The Angel and the Sandals

Acts 12:8

 

There are a lot of great and obvious truths that are safely tucked away in Scripture.  Unfortunately,, if you are a casual student of the Word, many of them will forever be undiscovered by you.  If your time in God’s Word is limited to your Sunday School lesson or a daily Bible reading assignment, you will never see some of the nuggets that are found in more obscure places.

 

I heard once of a pastor who developed a sermon on a ‘peanut.’ His sermon was very interesting and made a great message.  One of his young adults after the morning message greeted his pastor with these words, “Interesting sermon, Pastor! I have learned a lot from a ‘nut!’”

 

Through these summer months, I want to uncover some of those “Obvious Truths from Obscure Scriptures” for you.  They are plain to see, but for many people they will never be seen because the verses that contain them are so easy to read over or not notice.

 

For instance, did you ever pay attention to how much time is given to shoes and footwear and feet in the Scripture?  For instance,

 

In Exodus 3.5 we find Moses removing his sandals because he is on Holy Ground. Joshua does the same thing in Joshua 5:15.

 

 

In Exodus 12.11, the Israelites are instructed to make sure they have their sandals on when they observe the Passover. 

 

Deuteronomy 29.5 tells us that God prevented the Israelite s’ shoes from wearing out for the 40 years they wandered in the wilderness

 

In Ruth 4.7-8, we find the Jews had a custom in regard to redemption that included the giving of a sandal as confirmation of the covenant.

 

If you gained victory over an enemy, according to Psalm 108.9, you would shake your shoe as a symbol of that victory.

 

When John the Baptist spoke of the coming Messiah in Matthew 3.11, he said he wasn’t worthy to even carry His shoes or untie them.

 

In Luke 15.22, a worthless prodigal son returns home expecting, at best, to be made a servant.  Instead he winds up with a brand new robe, a golden ring and new sandals on his feet.

 

When the twelve are sent out to minister, Jesus instructs them to take only the bare necessities, including a pain of sandals.

 

Paul tells the Ephesians in 6.15 to wear for shoes the preparation of the Gospel of peace.

 

In Isaiah 52:7, God even says the Christian has beautiful feet when they carry the Good news of Jesus Christ to the world.

 

 

And since the Bible puts such emphasis of feet and shoes, I couldn’t help but let my sanctified imagination run wild a little bit as I thought about how much people and shoes have in common.  We all have a soul/sole, we all have eyes/ we all have a tongue and I’ve even known some heels!

 

And when you think about it, the best and most valuable shoes are made from something that used to be alive.  In fact, every time you put on a pair of leather shoes or ostrich boots, you can be reminded of the sacrifice made by Christ when He shed His blood for you to be dressed in His righteousness.

 

Then I got to thinking about the different kinds of shoes people wear as Christians:

 

Some wear Sneakers.

 

They sneak around hoping no one will figure out they are a Christian.  After all, they wouldn’t want their relationship with the Lord to cost them anything.

 

Some wear Running Shoes.

 

 Jonah comes to mind as a prime example.  God told him what to do and where to go and immediately Jonah laced up his running shoes to head in the opposite direction of God’s will for his life.

 

Some Christians I know wear Flip-Flops.

 

I don’t even have to explain that one do I?

 

 

 

 

Some are still in their Baby Shoes!

 

 They’ve been around long enough to have grown out of them, but they still desire the milk rather than the strong meat of the Word of God.

 

Some have on their High Heels.

 

They are those who think more highly of themselves than they ought.  They are so lifted up with pride and arrogance they are of no use to the Lord.   

 

But then, praise the Lord, some have on their Combat Boots. 

 

They have taken seriously the instruction of Paul to the Ephesians and have “put on the whole armor of God that they may be able to withstand the evil one.  Their feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

 

There is another reference to shoes that I want to share with you today, and I choose it as the text for our message because of all the places we could look, it is perhaps the most obscure and seemingly has the least significance.  It is found in

 

Acts 12:8

 

Now if we are to believe that every word of Holy Scripture is inspired by God, and I do, and if we are to embrace the fact that all scripture is profitable for us, and we do, then God has some message for us in this seemingly insignificant detail of this angel instructing Peter to make sure his sandals are tied.

 

 

So let’s see what obvious truths are found in this obscure scripture we have before us today.

 

As you probably know, this is not the first time Peter has been in prison, and once before he had been miraculously released.

 

And I think we can safely assume those responsible for his imprisonment are well aware of that fact.

Now that he is once again in their possession, they are determined there should be no more miracles. But what they misunderstood and did not take into account is the power of faithful, fervent prayer that causes God to raise His mighty arm to help.

 

That truth is the elephant in the room.  No doubt, the primary message of this passage is the power of prayer to a God Who can deliver.

 

But to contradict a popular phrase, I would suggest it is not the devil who is in the details, but rather it is God Who is in the details.  And while I am reveling in the big story of Acts 12, I don’t want to miss the supporting role of the accompanying verses.

 

So read with me again Acts 12:5-8

 

Nestled in the text are some obvious truths of which we need to be reminded, and the reminder God uses is this instruction to Peter to make sure his sandals are tied.

 

The first one is this:

 

 

 

I find it interesting that Peter was fast asleep when this angel appeared to him.  Not only was he in prison, verse 6 tells us he was bound by two chains between two guards and outside the door were an additional 14 soldiers.  Chances are good that tomorrow he will be executed and yet he’s asleep. 

 

Do you think Peter knew what it was to trust God?  Obviously he did to sleep under these conditions.

And suddenly, unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, that cell is filled with the glory of the Lord.  This heavenly angel makes his appearance and has to elbow Peter in the side to wake him up.  You wives didn’t know you were acting like angels every time you elbow your husband in church and wake him up, did you?

 

And old Peter is in a daze.  He’s awakened from a dead sleep, the angel tells him to get up, the chains fall off, and in a moment, almost as if he’s sleep walking, he follows the angel outside the prison not knowing whether it’s real or he is dreaming.  But the proof that this is, in fact, happening is found in the details. The angel says, “Get dressed and make sure your sandals are tied.”

 

Now it’s the middle of the night.  How does a prisoner in a dungeon see to get dressed and tie his sandals?  Is this a dream or is this real?  He can’t reach over and flip on the light switch.  We aren’t told of any torches or lamps.

 

The reason Peter could see to get dressed is because the angel brought the light with him.  And it’s as if that angel says, “Are you in doubt as to whether this is really happening?

 

Then use the light I brought with me so you can see to do what I’ve instructed you to do. Don’t sit around wondering if it’s all a dream. Do what you do in the light of God, even if it is nothing more than getting dressed and tying your shoes.”

 

I don’t think that Peter, however long he lived, would ever forget that lesson of the angel. Every morning as he stooped to tie his sandals he would say, "Even this is a reminder of God’s presence.

It’s not the healing of the sick or casting out demons, but simply routine tasks, everyday things that are made uncommon because every moment is lived in the light of the glory of God.

 

And may God help us to remember that God has shed His light on us for the same reason.  For most of us, our service will not be found in the spectacular, but rather in the day-by-day routines of life.

 

That’s why God places such emphasis on things like giving a cup of cold water in His name and seeing that the hungry are fed and the prisoners are visited.

 

We have for too long been deceived into believing that God is only in the glamorous and glorious.  But every day, God says, “Get dressed and make sure your shoes are tied and do it in the awareness of the presence and power of God.”

 

Don’t worry about doing great things for God.  Just use the light to tie your shoes.  Seek to be the man of God you ought to be.  Be a better father to your children or better wife to your husband.  Make it your goal to serve the Lord faithfully in whatever role he assigns to you and do it for His glory.

Awake in His light and tie your shoes.

 

Here’s a second truth:

 

 

Did you notice Peter was told to tie his own sandals?  The angel didn’t do it for him.  The angel could have done it.  And I don’t’ think it was pride that kept the angel from that service.

 

Things we would refuse to do are done by angels gladly.  If it was not beneath Christ to wash the feet of Peter, it was not beneath an angel to tie his shoe laces.  But the angel doesn’t do it.  Why not?

 

I think it is because there is this holy mixture of divine and human.  Now obviously, that statement is not in regard to salvation.  Our salvation is totally of God, start to finish.  But beyond our salvation, there are some things we have to do for ourselves.  And we do not find this angel doing for Peter what Peter could do for himself.

 

Notice how those two lessons are illustrated in this story.  Peter did not have the ability to get himself out of prison.  He could have worked at it all night long, but when morning came, he would have still been a prisoner.  It was beyond his ability to loose the chains and tear down prison gates.

 

So what he could not do for himself, God did through this heavenly messenger. But when He was surrounded by the light of God, it was certainly within his ability to get dressed and tie his shoes.  And what he could do, it was expected of him to do.

 

Likewise, no amount of human effort will ever deliver you from the prison of sin.  There isn’t enough human strength and ability to accomplish salvation.  You can work at it all of your lifetime and you will be no closer when you end than when you began.

 

But, praise the Lord, what we cannot do for ourselves, God, through His holy messenger Jesus Christ, did for us at Calvary’s cross.  And if you want to be saved, you need to know God has provided a way and it’s not you earning it or doing it yourself.

 

But we also need to keep in mind that once we are saved and living in His light, there are lots of things that are expected of us.  And I want to tell you something:  When God is at work, there is not only something you can do, you can do anything He instructs you to do.  And if God instructs you to do it, you don’t need some angel to do it for you.

 

And by the way, we ought to count it a privilege to get to labor alongside the Lord in His work.  Think about how that’s illustrated in the earthly miracles of the Lord.  When you think about it, there was always this mixture of human and holy in the miracles.

 

He makes the wine, but He did not go get the water Himself.  He instructed the servants to do that.

 

He feeds the thousands on the hill, but He instructed the disciples to go see what was available and then distribute the food to the people.

 

It was human hands that rolled the stone away and removed the grave clothes so a Lazarus raised from the dead could get out of the tomb and be free.

 

See the process?  Doing what He tells us to do allows us to be fellow-laborers with God in His work.  Peter needed the angel for his rescue, but the angel needed Peter to do something also. 

 

Get up and get dressed and tie your shoes.  That simple instruction lifted Peter out of sitting idly by waiting for God to do His work.  And even though it doesn’t seem like much, at that moment it was Peter’s obedience that made him a fellow-laborer with God.

 

Think of the significance of that when it comes to seeing folks saved.  Most of you will never know the blessing of attending church visitation even though God’s instruction is for us to go.  But every time a person gets saved, I can’t help but think how we had the privilege of being involved in the harvest.

 

God sees fit to save those to whom we witness.  The ministry of God has given the harvest, but it is the ministry of man that makes it a reality.

 

I must confess to you I am deeply concerned about the spiritual condition of our church.  It seems we’ve gotten into one of those lulls when we’re just going through the motions with not much to show for it.  And I’ve given much time to prayer and listening to God about where we are.

 

I realize the church is the Lord’s and He said He would build it, but as I’ve thought about this lesson of making sure your shoes are tied, I’ve had to think about my own life and my willingness to do what God tells me.

 

 

Two years ago God laid a vision on my heart for a new building and parking lot and renovation of our current facilities and it’s still undone.

 

Many of you signed commitment cards regarding a program God showed me called UNITE to Build.  And even though God gave clear direction, we’re still sitting where we were.  And this week God has said to me, “Just tie your shoes. I’ll take care of the prison doors and chains.  Just do what I’ve told you to do.”

 

For several years I’ve had a burden for a ministry center in the old high rise down town.  I’ve talked to people and played around with it, but never really pursued it.  But the God-given burden is still there every time I drive past it. It’s as though God is saying, “Just tie your shoes.  Don’t worry about the big things.  Just take care of the little things.”

 

And I’ve taken the time to consider our Sunday School leadership and deacons and staff.  It’s almost time for the Nominating Committee to be at work enlisting teachers.  This year we will be requiring every teacher to sign an expectations form.

 

It states that if you are elected by this church to serve, we are going to expect you to come to church Sundays and Wednesdays.  We are going to expect you to come to visitation and tithe and set a positive example and be here on time and several other things, every one of them Scripturally backed.  Just make sure your shoes are tied.

 

And I know already how some will respond.  “Well I guess I just won’t teach anymore.”  Well maybe you shouldn’t.  But that’s not the only alternative.

Maybe you should change the way you’re doing things. It’s always amazed me that folks will get mad and quit when you ask them to be obedient rather than just getting right with God and doing the right thing.

 

We accept job descriptions and requirements at work and school and on the highways and lots of other things in life, but for some reason we’re supposed to just get to coast through and barely get things done at church like it doesn’t matter.  Just get dressed and tie your shoes!

 

Listen:  All that you cannot do, God will do. But all that you can do, God will never do. Trust Him to free you by removing the chains and busting down doors and leading you triumphantly from prison. But tie your own shoes.  Don’t expect God to do it. Don’t wait for an angel.  Do what you can to the glory of God.

 

One final thing.

 

 

This little detail of tying sandals suggests that the angel wasn’t in a hurry.  No doubt, the angel is there to get the job done, but he’s not in a rush.

 

Contrast that with Peter and what we know about him.  Peter was always in a hurry.  Impulsive, impetuous Peter was always in a hurry.  He was always swift to speak and swift to act, too often without any regard for the consequences of his actions.

 

 

In fact, I am of the opinion that had the angel not given these instructions to get dressed and put on your shoes, Peter might well have fled the prison naked and barefoot.  Or maybe he would have got his sandals on, left them untied and went tripping and falling over the laces.

 

Every moment was precious, and every moment perilous. At any moment, the soldiers might awake. Very well aware of the danger that he was in, who would have blamed Peter for either leaving his possession s behind, or grabbing them and dressing safely down the road.

 

But this angel pictures for us absolute calm that comes only from spending time with God.  Hear him as he very deliberately says, “Peter get dressed and tie your sandals.”

 

I wonder if it had ever been more difficult to get his sleeves in the right hole than it was that night?  I wonder if this was the time the sandal laces were tied in a knot?

 

But on this night, when every move could mean life or death, and Peter’s heart was racing and his fingers fumbling, there was something strangely calming about this angel as he gives these simple directions.

 

It must have seemed like an eternity to get dressed that night.  What difference did it make if his sandals were tied when every moment was precious?  But it is there that we, along with Peter, learn the lesson which is so hard to learn.  There is no hurry in the plans of God.

 

There are a lot of weird people in the world and the majority of them are on the internet.  One such person I ran across this week is Ian Fieggen.  He’s 51 years of age, lives in Melbourne, Australia and has a website devoted to, of all things, shoelaces.  It’s called Ian’s Shoelace Site.  Original, huh?

 

On it, you can read about different ways of lacing and tying shoes, various shoelace lengths and even what the tips of shoelaces are called.  Anybody know?  They’re called aglets and you can find more information than you ever thought possible about aglets on Ian’s Shoelace Site.

 

But the page I found most interesting was the one devoted to “Shoelace News”.  There Ian has complied all kinds of news stories that involve shoelaces.  There are stories of children’s shoelaces getting caught in elevators and driving accidents caused by untied laces, and even stories from the sports world.

 

Did you know J.R. Smith of the New York Knicks was fined $50,000 in January of this year for trying to untie the laces of Dallas maverick Shaun Marion?

He was successful once, then tried it again in the next game and got caught resulting in the fine for “recurring instances of unsportsmanlike conduct”. 

 

In a similar story, football fans will remember that Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was suspended for two games after stomping the arm of Green Bay Packers guard Evan Dietrich-Smith during their game last Thanksgiving.

 

 

 

The rest of the story came out recently when former Packer Matthew Brock said linemen were instructed to untie Suh's shoelaces at every possible opportunity during the game and after untying his laces three times during the game, Suh twisted off and stomped the arm of Smith.

 

But perhaps the most tragic story comes out of South Africa where a specialist in the area of jackal research accidentally killed himself in a freak accident back in 2011.

 

Dr Paul Möller was alone at a shooting range on Saturday morning when he apparently stepped on a loose shoelace and fell down while holding his .357 revolver.  As he fell down, a shot went off and hit him in the right temple.  Ironically, he was the safety official of the shooting range.

 

Listen:  Some of you have already been around long enough to have learned the safest, calmest place you can ever be is doing what God has told you to do.  It may not make any sense.  It may seem to be taking too long.  It might not be the way you’d do it.

 

But if God says, “Get dressed and tie your shoes”, then relax and get your sandals on.  Everything’s going to be alright.  He knows what He’s doing.  He’s got all the details under control.  You can trust Him.

 

Let’s pray.