Acts 12 Prayer and Sovergn God

Good morning everyone! I am so happy to be back up here preaching the word of God. It has been a long stretch since I have preached, and I am always so blessed by the oportunity. It has been really cool for me personally to have such diversity in our peaching. Getting to have Joey, Matt, Adam, and Sam come up here are share the word on a regular basis has been a work of the Lord, and I am really thankful to share this responsibility with these men.

I am going to begin by inviting the kids up to the front, to share a condensed version of the sermon with them. Kids, you can come up here to the front.

Kids Sermon

Who can tell me what prayer is?‌

Prayer is when we talk to God

Today’s story is about a man named Peter.

Peter’s friend James was killed because he followed Jesus, and Peter was locked in jail because he loved Jesus.

Peter had lots of people guarding him, making sure there was no way that he could escape. No one could help Peter when he was in jail.

But the other Christians did something while Peter was in jail to try and help him, can anyone guess what they did?

They prayed for Peter. The whole church prayed for him

Then God sent an angel who went into the jail and let Peter out because the church prayed for him!

God used the Church’s prayer to save Peter from jail by sending his angel!

The text we are in today is critical for our understanding of how we as the christian church deal with persecution and suffering. The story we are unpacking today is in Acts chapter 12, and it took place over 2000 years ago. But the truth is just as true today as it was back then. Before we get into the text, I want to share a more modern story with you. This is a story of a man named Alexander.

“Alexander Traverston followed someone he thought was a friend into a building. He sat down and was offered water.

Then eight men entered the room with angry faces. They dead-bolted the door behind them. Alarmed, Alexander asked why the door was locked.

“Because we are about to beat you,” the men replied.

“What is this?” the missionary called out. “I thought we were friends.”

One of the eight men replied, “You are no friend.”

Alexander serves in South Asia with the International Mission Board. He had been threatened multiple times before, along with his wife, Lillian, his IMB teammates and their national partners. But this time it wasn’t an empty threat. This was reality.

The missionary stood up and walked toward the door.

That’s when the first blow came to his back.

As he struggled to move about the room, blow after blow came. Someone broke a bottle over his head. He made his way to the still locked door, before being pulled back and beaten again.

His crime?

Boldly proclaiming the gospel to people in a South Asian city who are in desperate need of God’s saving grace.

“I thought of my children and my wife,” Alexander recounted. His wife was one street over, discipling new believers alongside a national partner. An IMB partner was with their children, leading a Bible club.

A tremendous peace passed over Alexander. He knew God would take care of his family.

“Lord, I can trust You,” he thought to himself as the first blows came to his back and head. “God this is for You. I love You. I trust You.”

The second time he made his way to the door, it was unlocked. Another group was waiting for him outside, they threw him in a vehicle and took him to the police station.

There, a mob of over 100 people waited. They shouted accusations to the police – all of which were false.

The police took him in for interrogation. Lillian joined him for the interrogation as soon as she could get to his side.

The police wanted to know why Alexander insisted on sharing his faith.

“Thankfully, I was able to tell the reason for the hope that I have in Christ,” Alexander said.

After he was released, he spent a night in the hospital. None of the injuries were life-threatening.”

Living in the in the safety and security of modern America we might tempted to think that stories like Alexander’s are rare. This is far from the truth… This is a quote from Lifeway Research.

“In the past year, 360 million Christians, or 1 in 7 believers around the world, suffered significant persecution for their faith. Every day in 2021, an average of more than 16 believers were killed for following Jesus. With close to 6,000 total martyrs, 2021 saw a 24% increase in Christians killed for the faith.” - Lifeway Research

In our current context, here in Pasco Washington, we are blessed with safety, security, and freedom of religion. We live in a bubble that tempts us to disassociate from the hardship our brothers and sisters face around the world every day. Do not fall into this temptation, instead open your ears to the Word of God and hear what it has to say to us. The story we are about to read in Acts 12 provides instruction and help for us in this great time of need. First, we must pray and ask the Lord to speak through His word, then we can approach the text.

Prayer

Father, we are in desperate need for you to speak this morning. Your people have gathered to commune over Your body and blood, and to hear you speak to us in a special way through your word. Open our hears, Lord! Soften our hearts. Give us wisdom and accuracy as we seek to understand the text. Help us leave this place changed, because we know and love Jesus more.

Because this is a long-ish narrative, I think it will be beneficial for us to read it all the way through first, then go back and take it in sections. During long readings like this it is especially important for you to turn to the text in your bibles. For that reason, we will not have this section of text on the screen. Take a moment and open Acts chapter 12 in your bible or on your device.

Acts 12 ESV

1 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 2 He killed James the brother of John with the sword, 3 and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. 6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” 12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!” 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place. 18 Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there. 20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. 24 But the word of God increased and multiplied. 25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.

What a powerful account. There is lots to cover, so we will dive right into verse 1.

Acts 12:1 ESV

1 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.

As a little bit of a bonus point, and so you aren’t confused as you read the broader new testament, I will explain who the Herod’s were.

The Herod’s were a particularly cruel line of kings who ruled around the time of Christ.

Herod the Great is the king you read about who was around when Jesus was born. He was responsible for the killing of all the children 2 years and younger in an attempted to kill Jesus shortly after He was born.

Matthew 2:16 reads:

Matthew 2:16 ESV

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.

Now, Herod The Great had a son named Herod Antipas, and he was the one who killed John the Baptist. We see that in Mark chapter 6.

The Herod we see in out text, Acts 12, is Herod Antipas’ grandson. His name is Herod Agrippa the 1st. He is the one who executes James and imprisons Peter.

His Son Agrippa the 2nd rules after him, and that is who Paul is on trial in front of in Acts 25.

That is a lot, but it helpful to keep these things straight as we constantly move around the new testament in our teaching.

So back in verse 1,

Acts 12:1 ESV

1 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.

Herod was particularly popular with the Jews for doing things like this, and it’s likely that his “Laying violent hands” on believers was politically motivated.

The victims we read about here are James and Peter, two of Jesus’ closest disciples.

Look at Verses 2-5

Acts 12:2–5 ESV

2 He killed James the brother of John with the sword, 3 and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

Notice, there is no backstory for James. One verse, it says he is killed, and then it moves on. Although we don’t get much of that story, we can fill in some of the gaps. The text goes on to talk about Peter, how he was in prison and that the whole church prayed earnestly for him. James was in a similar situation right before Peter. James was also loved by the church, he had friends and likely a family, and we can be sure that earnest prayer was also given for him.

This brings us to a difficult reality… Two men, both facing execution, both surely received prayer from the church, yet one is killed and the other is delivered.

This brings me to the first point in the sermon:

Prayer and Suffering

There is a lot of suffering that Christian’s experience in this world. Tragic things happen every day, and many times those things are accompanied by prayer. This can feel frustrating to me at times, and I am sure that you have experience similar emotions. I lost my younger brother when he was 10 years old to a freak bicycle accident. One day he was fine and the next day the Lord decided to take him home.

The flesh in that moment is confused. The flesh in that moment is frustrated, or even angry. And more often than not we cannot make sense of the suffering in this world. The bad things that happen to Christians seems overwhelming. During hard times of suffering you might face temptation to doubt God, to question His sovereignty or goodness.

Sometime we wish prayer was more mechanical. We wish that prayer was a blank check that we write to God and he will honor our request. Or if you have 75% faith God will answer your prayer but any less and He will ignore it. Thankfully, prayer doesn’t work that way. Pray is not a blank check, it is not mechanical. If it were, we would all be in more trouble than you know…

We do not get easy answers to the suffering in this life… But we are not without hope....

So what IS the key to understanding prayer as it relates to the suffering that Christians experience?

The key to understanding prayer as it relates to suffering is that we do NOT put our trust in the prayers we pray, but in the God we serve.

LISTEN: The key to understanding prayer as it relates to suffering is that we do NOT put our trust in the prayers we pray, but in the God we serve.

We know that the God we serve is GOOD, and He is Sovereign. He is in control of every outcome, and He is not a wicked ruler. He is a GOOD God who cares deeply for His people and their suffering. There are things that happen that seem to go directly against the prayers we prayed, and in that moment of suffering or disappointment, we put our trust not in our prayers, but in our GOOD and sovereign God.

Listen to what it says in Romans 8:26-28.

Romans 8:26–28 ESV

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

This verse does NOT say, “All things will work together according to your prayers.” It says all things will work together for GOOD. This requires faith on our part, and trust in God and His ways. If prayer was mechanical, and all of our prayers were answered according to our will and desire, we could have no confidence that things work together for GOOD, for we as a fallen people, unwise in our ways, simply do not know how to pray as we ought.

The key to understanding prayer as it relates to suffering is that we do NOT put our trust in the prayers we pray, but in the God we serve.

We will actually discuss a similar point later on, but we can move forward in the text.

The story continues:

Acts 12:6–8 ESV

6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”

This also reveals something striking. Notice that Peter is sleeping soundly when the angle of the Lord appears to rescue him. Peter sleeping soundly is not a behavior that is associated with anxiety or worry over his situation. He has just been thrown in prison, sleeping BETWEEN two guards who will later be a part of his scheduled execution, yet he is sound asleep.

Peter’s peace is best understood in light of the third point, so take note of this behavior. For now, it’s important to see that Peter is displaying tremendous trust and confidence in the Lord. Whether in life or in death, Peter seems to be trusting in God’s plan and he has peace in this unthinkable circumstance.

So the angels wakes him, has him put on his shoes, releases him from his chains, and leads him out of the prison.

Let’s read Peter’s response:

Acts 12:9–11 ESV

9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

It takes this long for Peter to even realize that what was happening was real. At first he thinks he is seeing some kind of vision. But the angel of the Lord brings him out to the street then just kind of leaves him there. In that moment Peter realizes that this is no vision, but that the Lord delivered him from death. The Angel didn’t take Peter all the way to his final destination, he leaves him on some street and Peter chooses his next course of action.

Verse 12:

Acts 12:12–17 ESV

12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!” 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.

Peter makes his way to a house full of believers. He knocks on the door, and Rhona comes to answer it. But when she recognizes that it is Peter at the door she is SO filled with joy she doesn’t even open the door. She leaves him standing there and goes to tell the others. They don’t even believe her at first, because Peter had a 0% chance of escaping that prison.

They finally go open the door and they are just standing there in amazement. This was something so beyond what was possible, and they can’t believe it’s really him. Peter motions to them to keep it down, and then goes on to tell them how the Lord set him free. The Peter leaves the house and goes on to another place.

This bring us to the second point in the sermon:

Prayer and Miracles

I want to explain the difference between God doing a miracle, and ordinary means of grace.

A miracle is something that happens outside the natural order that God has setup in the world. Miracles are things like Parting the Red Sea, healing a blind man, removing someones cancer without treatment, allowing someone to speak in another language, and anyone passing from death to life because they choose Jesus as Lord. All of these things are supernatural, because they fall outside the natural order of the world.

Ordinary means of Grace are things that do not violate the natural order of the world, but are still God delivering grace to his people. An ordinary means of grace would be somethings like a surgery going well. The doctor performing the surgery is the the means that God uses to deliver some kind of physical aid. A good outcome for a serious surgery is still an act of grace and healing from the Lord, but The Lord accomplished His will through ordinary means.

Peter being freed from the prison was a prayer that God answered through super natural intervention, it was a miracle.

But notice at the end of the text we just read, Peter’s response to this miracle is NOT to flaunt his freedom and test the limits of God’s grace, instead he acts in wisdom by departing to another place to hide from Herod.

We can draw out several sub-points from the churches prayer and Peter’s response to God’s miracle.

Sub-point number one:

Miracles are the exception, not the rule

Remember, Peter was not expecting to be saved. He wasn’t anxious, but he also wasn’t expecting to be saved. It wasn’t until Peter was dropped off on a street corner that he even realized what was happening was real. Likewise, the believers that Peter visits are utterly shocked to see him standing there. They prayed for a miracle, but even when their prayer was answered they had to take a minute to even comprehend that God answered that prayer. This displays a lack of faith on their part, but God answered their prayers despite this unbelief.

God can, and does, work through miracles. Yet we need to be careful to view this in light of the truth we unpacked in point number one.

God has chosen to act primary through ordinary means or grace, with miracles being the exception.

Sub-point number two:

Pray for a miracle, act in wisdom

The church knew on some level that what they were praying for Peter was impossible through ordinary means. Peter was being guarded by FOUR squads of soldiers, and sleeping between two of them. Escape from this kind of situation would have been nothing short of a miracle. Yet, the church prayed for him. Presumably, they prayed for his safety and deliverance from the hand of Herod. As I mentioned before, after God answered their prayer, they go about acting in wisdom in the situation. They do not assume that God’s will is to deliver miraculous protection all the time, instead Peter acts wisely by departing to another place.

This would be the equivalent to wearing your seatbelt in the car. If you were to get into a bad car accident without a seatbelt on, God could save you using a miracle. But we are to live our lives in wisdom and not assuming God’s will is to act in a miraculous may.

Its okay to pray for Miracles. It’s also okay to pray that God would deliver grace through ordinary means. God works in both ways, but we should act in wisdom.

Moving on in our story we see Herod’s response when he discovers what happened to Peter:

Acts 12:18–23 ESV

18 Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there. 20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

The guards are confused, there is lots of commotion, and even though Herod searches for Peter he cannot find him.

After all of these events take place the people get an appointment with Herod to request peace in their land. Herod delivers a speech to them, and the people’s response is to say, “This is the voice of a God, not of a man!”

Herod liked that that kind of attention. He takes that glory for himself, and because he took the glory and did not give it to God he was killed by God in that very moment.

This is account of Herod’s death was put into story directly following the persecution of James and Peter for a reason. This is an outward picture of a deeper spiritual reality. No one can lay a hand on God’s people without justice.

Which bring us to point number three:

Prayer and Justice

Herod’s death is a physical picture of a spiritual reality. There will be things that happen in this world that seem unjust. As we read in the beginning, thousands of Christians are still being killed every year for their faith. Families are torn apart because they worship Jesus.

In the midst of all of this wickedness, our flesh cries out to God, “Why are You allowing there to be so much injustice?”

We aren’t the first people to feel this way. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 73:

Psalm 73:3–9 ESV

3 For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. 5 They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. 7 Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. 8 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. 9 They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.

There are so many times when the righteous perish and the wicked seem to prosper. Yet we can have assurance that no sin, brokenness, or suffering will be unreconciled.

We pray for justice, and justice WILL be done. God is a perfect judge, and all things will be set right. There is no debt that goes unpaid.

Romans 12:19 ESV

19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

This should humble us, because we in our initial state are enemies of God. Do not be quick to forget that you deserve God’s wrath for your sin. We deserve eternal punishment for our sinful ways, and God would be a good judge to condemn us to hell.

But praise the Lord, he did not leave us in this hopeless state. He sent his Son, Jesus, to reconcile us to God.

Romans 3:21–26 ESV

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

“So that He might be the JUST and the JUSTIFIER of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Jesus lived a perfect life, he died, taking the penalty for the sins of his people. All the wrong in the world will be brought to account. The price is either paid by the perpetrator of the wrong, or by Jesus as he hung on the cross 2000 years ago and faced the full wrath of God.

Jesus is the perfect judge, and the perfect justification for those who confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that God raised Him from the dead.

This point overlaps heavily with point number one. The main takeaway from point number three is that our prayers for justice and reconciliation in the world never go unanswered. Even if it isn’t on our time, even if we never get to see the outcome, all things have been made right by Jesus.

This is the gospel we preach to the world. This is the good news for us.

The only reason we CAN pray is because Jesus made a way for us to be reconciled to God. When Jesus died the curtain was torn in two and we were given access to God. We were justified, and now we can pray for justice to be done in the world.

In closing, I want to leave you with practical steps you can take to apply the truth we have read.

Firstly, we must be a people of prayer. I am guilty of praying far less than I should. There are some of you in this room who might not pray at all. If this is you, come boldly to Lord in prayer and make your requests know.

Second, we need to exit the American Christian bubble and pray more broadly for our brothers and sisters around the world who are suffering. The International Mission Board, and other resources like that, can help you pray effectively.

Lastly, practice trust and rest in God when you see or experience hardship. This is largely accomplished through prayer. God cares for you. He loves you very much and cares about your suffering and the suffering in the world.