When Persecution Comes

He Will Hold Me Fast, Selah

Psalm 109 NIV

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. 1 My God, whom I praise, do not remain silent, 2 for people who are wicked and deceitful have opened their mouths against me; they have spoken against me with lying tongues. 3 With words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause. 4 In return for my friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer. 5 They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my friendship. 6 Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy; let an accuser stand at his right hand. 7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayers condemn him. 8 May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership. 9 May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. 10 May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes. 11 May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor. 12 May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children. 13 May his descendants be cut off, their names blotted out from the next generation. 14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord; may the sin of his mother never be blotted out. 15 May their sins always remain before the Lord, that he may blot out their name from the earth. 16 For he never thought of doing a kindness, but hounded to death the poor and the needy and the brokenhearted. 17 He loved to pronounce a curse— may it come back on him. He found no pleasure in blessing— may it be far from him. 18 He wore cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water, into his bones like oil. 19 May it be like a cloak wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him. 20 May this be the Lord’s payment to my accusers, to those who speak evil of me. 21 But you, Sovereign Lord, help me for your name’s sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me. 22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. 23 I fade away like an evening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust. 24 My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt. 25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads. 26 Help me, Lord my God; save me according to your unfailing love. 27 Let them know that it is your hand, that you, Lord, have done it. 28 While they curse, may you bless; may those who attack me be put to shame, but may your servant rejoice. 29 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace and wrapped in shame as in a cloak. 30 With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord; in the great throng of worshipers I will praise him. 31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save their lives from those who would condemn them.

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When Persecution Comes

Have you ever wondered what became of the Twelves Disciples? Allow me to share with you.

10,000 Sermon Illustrations What Became of the Twelve Disciples?

What Became of the Twelve Disciples?

1. John died of extreme old age in Ephesus.

2. Judas Iscariot, after betraying his Lord, hanged himself.

3. Peter was crucified, head downward, during the persecution of Nero.

4. Andrew died on a cross at Patrae, in Achaia, a Grecian Colony.

5. James, the younger brother of the Savior, was thrown from a pinnacle of the Temple, and then beaten to death with a club.

6. Bartholomew was flayed alive in Albanapolis, Armenia.

7. James, the elder son of Zebedee, was beheaded at Jerusalem.

8. Thomas, the doubter, was run through the body with a lance at Coromandel, in the east Indies.

9. Philip was hanged against a pillar at Heropolis (Abyssinia).

10. Thaddeus was shot to death with arrows.

11. Simon died on a cross in Persia (now Iran

12. Matthew’s outcome is debated. Some say he died of natural causes while others report he was stabbed to death in Ethiopia.

There is a reason Jesus instructed people to “count the cost of serving Him.” He never promised it would be easy, only that there would be a great reward in the end. Jesus said, “The more we suffer on this earth, the greater our reward is in heaven.”

Matthew 16:27 NIV

27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

James 1:12 NIV

12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Matthew 5:11–12 NIV

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Amy Carmichael gave her life to serve Christ at an early age. Though she served in various places, she is the most known for her work in India. At the age of 67 years, she had a bad fall and was an invalid for the next 20 years until her death due to the injury and resulting arthritis. She wrote meany books and poems. Allow me to share one of her poems with you, as she understood the concept of suffering for Christ.

10,000 Sermon Illustrations No Scar?

No Scar?

Hast thou no scar?

No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?

I hear thee sung as mighty in the land,

I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star,

Hast thou no scar?

Hast thou no wound?

Yet I was wounded by the archers, spend,

Leaned Me against a tree to die; and rent

By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned:

Hast thou no wound?

No wound, no scar?

Yet, as the Master shall the servant be,

And, pierced are the feet that follow Me;

But thine are whole: can he have followed far

Who has no wounds nor scar?

- Amy Carmichael

A life lived for Christ isn’t easy, but the miracles we see are amazing. Today we will complete this study in Acts. I hope to come back to it next year and focus on the missionary trips of Paul. However, today, we will finish with this final even in Peter’s life from the book of Acts. It is one of persecution and deliverance.

Acts 12:1–19 NIV

1 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. 11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.” 12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” 15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” 16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place. 18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.

The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

When Persecution Comes

I. Persecution

Persecution…It seems the majority of the time we hear about it in Judea, there is a Herod behind it. It can become a bit confusing so allow me to give you a little run down on some of these Herod’s and what gives them the right to serve as King of the Jews.

In this moment, we are dealing with Herod Agrippa I. Herod Agrippa I had a Jewish grandmother of royal blood (Mariamne), which allowed the people to accept him—though grudgingly. His grandfather was Herod the Great who ordered the Bethlehem children to be murdered. His uncle was Herod Antipas who had John the Baptist beheaded. We see the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as this Herod has James cut down with a sword. James death made him the first martyred among the original 12 disciples.

Though Mariamne was of Jewish blood, the rest of the Herod family were Edomites. This did not go down so well with the Jews, so Herod liked it when he could please them. You know, “I will scratch your back if you scratch mine” kind of thing. The Jewish elites were more than happy to have Herod rid them of these Christian Jews, especially since they had now opened their doors to Gentiles. When the death of James turned out to be a popular move among these Jews, Herod decided to keep going. So, he has Peter arrested during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. No one would expect such a move during a holiday festival, so it worked out well. And this is where we see that...

A. God Sees Our Trials, (vv 1-4)

Herod has Peter arrested and his plan is to put Peter on a public trial right after the Passover celebration. The timing is perfect considering it is the same time as when Christ was hung on the cross. However, nothing ever occurs that God is blind to it. He always sees and has a plan to deal with it.

Psalm 34:15–16 NIV

15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; 16 but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth.

Peter will remember this Psalm and later place it in his letter of 1 Peter 3:12. Peter remembers because Peter has witnessed it first hand.

Now you may be asking, why save Peter and not James? After all, James was the brother of Jesus close friend John.

When such questions arise we need to remember that God always has His own purposes. However, our physical death is not a bad thing in God’s mind. For when His faithful die here on earth, they are welcomed to their final reward. Their pain is only a moment compared to the eternal reward to come.

Those of us who are left behind are the ones that struggle, not those who have gone on before us. So if it seems unfair, it really is not. It is just a matter of perspective.

Our struggles may continue, but we have one powerful avenue of help. It is prayer! Because...

B. God Hears Our Prayers (vv 5-17)

Here is where we find the key of this passage.

Acts 12:5 NIV

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

We should never give up on prayer. God always hears our prayers. We saw this with Cornelius the past 3 weeks. He was not a Jew, but he worshiped the God of the Jews in the only way he knew how which included prayer. God heard and answered his prayer.

In our opening Psalm, King David also understood this powerful invocation of prayer. We find him praying regarding his enemies.

Psalm 109:1–4 NIV

1 My God, whom I praise, do not remain silent, 2 for people who are wicked and deceitful have opened their mouths against me; they have spoken against me with lying tongues. 3 With words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause. 4 In return for my friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.

David knew that prayer was the key. And so did this church. They stayed up praying all night. Have you ever tried to pray for hours at a time? If something is important enough, it is worth the effort. Now, here is where we find a confident Peter, because while the church is praying...

1. Peter isSleeping, vv 5, 6

This is what we call intercessory prayer. The church was interceding on Peter’s behalf, but Peter needed his rest to face the ordeal yet to come.

Pam in Sunday school last week was mentioning how she was reminded how Jesus intercedes for us every moment of every day. There is nothing in our lives occuring that He is not blind to and He prays to the Father on our behalf.

Peter was so confident of this, that he was in a deep sleep. So much so, the angel had to strike him to wake him up.

Acts 12:7 NIV

7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

Peter was so soundly asleep, he thought what was taking place was a dream. Yet, even in this dream we find...

2. Peter Obeying, vv 7-11

He puts on his clothes and sandals and wraps his cloak around him just as the angel says. Then he follows the angel. First, past one guard and then past a second guard. It wasn’t until they are outside and the angel disappears that Peter fully understands that this is no dream. He has been delivered.

Acts 12:11 NKJV

11 And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”

The word delivered used here is the same word for delivered Stephen used when he talked about the deliverance of Israel from the Egyptians. However, we can only be delivered and saved by taking actions of obedience.

In the book, The Heavenly Man, Brother Yun found himself in a similar situation. He had been so badly beaten that people had to carry him around because he could not walk. Then one night, God said, “Yun, walk out of this prison. There were something like three doors with two guards at each, that he would have to walk through. His first obstacle was to trust that when God said, “get up and walk,” he had to believe God had healed him to do so. He did get up. He walked at a normal pace and walked through each check point without anyone noticing him, even as he walked right past them.

However, this was only possible because he trusted God enough to obey. He could have felt sorry for himself and said, “God, I cannot. My legs do not work.” Or, he could have refused on the grounds that if he were caught, he would just get another beating. But he did not hesitate. He got up. He walked with purposeful intent right past each guard station and out the door of the prison. It took awhile before they even realized he was no longer there.

It would would be difficult for Peter to know how long it will be before he is discovered missing. However, instead of hiding, he goes directly to the place where he knows the others are praying. They have been praying night and day for perhaps a week, so they deserved to know he was free. Now, we find...

3. Peter Knocking, vv 12-16

Peter will be anxious to get out of the street, but the people inside praying will be cautious as for all they know, this could be soldiers coming to arrest each of them. Rhoda proceeds to determine who is outside. She has heard Peter enough to recognize his voice. In her excitement, she forgets to let Peter in. She rushes to let everyone know Peter is outside.

It is quite comical when you think about it. Can you just see Peter standing there and saying, “Rhoda, it’s me, Peter!” Then he hears her excitedly running back to the others. I can just see him shaking his head saying, “Really! You didn’t even open the door! Girls!” :-)

After all that praying, they should be overjoyed but they are reluctant to believe it. They go so far as to say she is out of her mind! When she insists it is him, they think it must be his angel. I am not sure if they thought this meant he was dead or if they thought a guardian angel is a look alike.

Of course, all this commotion is not the best when you are under suspicion. Peter continues to knock and eventually they open the door. They are shocked to see that it really is Peter in the flesh.

When we pray, we should not be surprised when the answer walks through our door. God is good and He is faithful. We should always be ready to give praise for answered prayer.

Once Peter gets inside and quiets everyone down before they all get arrested, he is ready to share his adventure. Walking with God is always an adventure. You always have events of your life to share with others. And why do we share? Because these adventures always reveal God through his miracles. Here...

4. Peter is Declaring God’s Mighty Works, v 17

God has answered their prayers, but not just any old regular way. God does it miraculously. He sends an angel. The manacles fall from his wrists and ankles of their own accord. They walk out the door and doors open by themselves. Our God is a mighty God and people need to hear our stories of what He does for us.

If you are serving God in the way that you should, you will have such stories to tell. They become and ordinary part of our life. We should delight in sharing them with others so they can see He is a God worth trusting.

And now we come full circle back to those enemies of God’s people and we see...

C. God Confuses Our Enemies (vv 18-19)

Acts 12:18–19 NIV

18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.

After Peter leaves, we are not told where he goes. However, we pick up more of his adventures through Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:12 where we get the impression that he at some point visited Corinth and we are told in 1 Corinthians 9:5 that Peter travels with his wife. Perhaps he caught up with her at this home before he went into hiding.

We also have Peter’s later writings in 1st and 2nd Peter. Peter is eventually martyred as well. Nero orders his crucifixion. Peter objects to the same means as Jesus as he does not feel he deserves to be hung in the same manner as Christ, so they hang him upside down. This seems cruel but we know that he was reunited with his Friend and Savior in the end. However, it does not go so well for others. Here we see...

D. God Has the Final Move, vv 19-24

Acts 12:19–24 NIV

19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. 20 He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply. 21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. 24 But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.

In time, justice does prevail. God’s enemies are defeated and it is not reward they enter. It is hell. Eternal damnation and suffering.

Conclusion:

In all the books and accounts I have read of people suffering persecution, I never hear them ask to be delivered. There are four things I hear them ask for.

1. Grace while they are under persecution.

They desire we pray that they are gracious to show love and forgiveness to those who persecute them. They desire to see their persecutors saved, not destroyed.

2. Strength and endurance during persecution.

They do not wish to abandon the faith. So they need strength and endurance to stand firm in their faith through the persecution.

3. God’s will for their situation.

It is God’s will they desire, not their own. This is difficult for most of us on good days let alone to ask for it in times of intense persecution. However, this is the correct request even in such times.

4. Christ’s return and the resulting peace.

Come Lord Jesus Come, should be our cry. This is not our home. We should never forget that. We should long for heaven, not for the things of this earth.

Allow me to close with this song.

“I Bless Your Name”

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