Earnest Faith

There was a lady named Annie. She was known for her faith and her boldness in talking about the Lord. She was known to stand on her front porch shout at her atheist neighbor, “Praise the Lord!” to which her neighbor would say, “There ain’t no God!”

One time Annie was in need, She stood on her porch and prayed, “Praise the Lord! Please God, send me some groceries.” The next morning she found a large bag of groceries on her porch, which caused her to shout, “Praise the Lord!”

On cue, her neighbor jumped out from behind a bush and said, “Hey, don’t give God the credit—I bought those groceries, He didn’t!”

Annie laughed, jumped up and down, clapped her hands, and shouted, “Praise the Lord! He not only sent me groceries, but he made the devil pay for them!”

Last time I spoke on Wednesday we studied Acts 4 and how we can have courageous faith just like Peter and John. Remember that God had healed a man and Peter and John took the opportunity to preach about Jesus. This got them thrown into prison. When they were called for questioning the men didn’t hold back.

In the face of fear Peter had courageous faith and told those religious leaders that he wouldn’t stop preaching. How could he, after all the God had done for them, they just couldn’t and wouldn’t stop!

That’s great faith! It’s courageous faith. We would be wise to have this same kind of faith. That despite what others think, say, or do we must proclaim who God is and what He has done in us.

I want to continue talking about faith and focus in on another story of Peter, but this time a little later in his ministry. We will be studying Acts 12 tonight.

You know what? Fear is really what stops our faith. It’s funny because “on paper” we don’t have reason to fear anyone or anything.

Remember the words of Jesus”

Matthew 10:28 NLT

28 “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Ultimately, we know that no one can take our eternity, but yet in the moment we can freeze up and allow fear instead of faith control the situations we face.

Acts 12 will maybe give us some help in our faith. We are going to talk about what it means to have Earnest Faith.

King Herod Agrippa began to persecute the early church. He killed the disciple James and saw how happy it made the Jewish religious leaders so he decided arrest Peter. King Agrippa made a big show of the arrest, he has 16 armed guards with Peter during the day and even had 2 guards chained to him over night. It was fully his intention to kill Peter.

Escape for Peter was implausible. But something miraculous happened. People earnestly prayed and God intervened. He sent an angel to free Peter from the prison. His chains fell off and he was led right out of the jail.

It was a miracle!

There’s a verse in this chapter that I want to be the anchor verse for the sermon.

Acts 12:5 NLT

5 But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

The word that sticks out to me that seems really important is the word Earnestly. Other versions use the words fervently, constant, and without ceasing. I like the word earnestly. To me, it really captures the heart of those who were praying for Peter.

They prayed with sincere and intense conviction. They were earnest in their prayer and in their faith in God. They had to believe in the impossible situation that if God wanted to He could save Peter.

What can we learn from this chapter of the Bible? I believe we can learn to have Earnest Faith in God.

My first point is...

Earnest Faith Understands the Battle

Let’s read the first 4 verses of chapter 12

Acts 12:1–4 NASB95

1 Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. 2 And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. 3 When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people.

As I look around this room I see friendly faces. It’s one of my favorite things about church. When you come to church you’re going to be encouraged by others. Generally speaking, you don’t come to church to get harassed by others. This is a place where I hope everyone feels love and acceptance.

I know that behind many smiling faces are hurting hearts. People have pain, disappointment, fear, anger, anxiety, and suffering. It’s a fact. Do you know why believers experience these things that sometimes we try to hide?

We experience hard things because we are ALL in different battles. It’s a fact of life. The second you take a step forward there’s always something trying to pull you back.

I’d love to tell you that once you come to Christ that everything was going to be perfect, but that would not be true.

In our culture for the most part we aren’t facing the same persecution that the early church was, but I would say that we do, in fact, face battles. Battles where we can slowly lose ground. Battles of morality, Battles of tolerance, Battles of righteousness.

If we aren’t advancing then we are being advanced on!

James lost his life in a battle against Herod Agrippa. He lost his life simply because he was a follower of Christ. This is the same James whose mother was practically begging Jesus to given her son some type of favor in His kingdom.

Matthew 20:20–23 NLT

20 Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor. 21 “What is your request?” he asked. She replied, “In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.” 22 But Jesus answered by saying to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?” “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!” 23 Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”

You see James wanted to sit in a position of honor. He didn’t realize that being a follower of Christ meant that he was going to lose his life. He didn’t know about the battle that was happening behind the scenes. He was focused on the temporal. The physical. He wanted to sit on a throne and rule.

We can be very guilty of the very same thing. We come to God with our earthly requests never giving much thought about what lasts for eternity. Now, I’m not trying to make anyone feel bad, God does care about the issues we face here on earth.

What I’m trying to bring out from the scripture is Earnest Faith in Christ. Faith that has sincere and intense conviction and can see the bigger picture of what’s really happening.

Earnest faith understands that we are in a battle. It may seem as though Herod won the battle when he murdered James, but we know that the true battle has already been won by the Lord.

Earnest Faith is knowing that no matter what you are facing that God is in control even if the outcome is not what you wanted.

One final thought about the battle we all face. The enemy is smart - when he wants to hinder the church he goes after those who are doing the most work. Are we the kind of Christians that Satan wants to attack? Are we a threat?

God has a unique purpose for each of us, we all have parts to play in the battle. Why was James allowed to die and Peter was set free in our reading? We don’t know other than God has specific purpose for each of these men.

The courage of Civil War leader Stonewall Jackson in the midst of conflict can be a lesson for the believer. He was once asked about his fearlessness in battle. This is what he said:

‘My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed.’ Jackson explained, ‘God (knows the) time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter where it may overtake me.’

I like this part, ‘That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave.’”

Earnest Faith understand that we are in a battle. My second point from the scripture is that...

Earnest Faith Never Gives Up

Acts 12:4–5 NLT

4 Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. 5 But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

After James was murdered Herod arrested Peter. This was not a good situation. If you were in Peter’s shoes you might be thinking this would be a good time to give up. To throw in the towel.

In our own lives we will all face this moment. When everything goes wrong and then you get the news that it just got worse! These are faith defining moments in our lives. When we are persecuted or when things go wrong we find out what kind of faith we really have.

Do we give up or do we step up in faith?

I’ve got to say something that is on my heart. Relationships are important. They aren’t just something that we can give up on when we disagree of there was some sort of argument. If we are going to have faith in God we need to have faith in ALL areas of our lives. That includes our relationships with others! If you have given up on someone recently, maybe it’s time to step out in faith an try to rebuild what has been broken.

When our backs are against the wall, like Peter, we will have a choice to make. Are we going to trust God no matter what happens or are we going to shrink back in fear.

Peter was told something by Jesus that was a promise about his life.

John 21:18–19 NLT

18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”

Peter knew that he would not die until he was older, and that his death would not be by the sword (as with James, v. 2), but by crucifixion. Faith in the Word of God gave him peace.

If we trust Christ’s promises, we will have that same peace in the midst of tribulation.

Trust in Christ means we have faith that never gives up because we know He will sustain us to fulfill His purpose with our lives. We must be willing to be used up for the kingdom of God. It’s all that matters.

Now, to our anchor verse for this sermon.

Acts 12:5 NLT

5 But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

WE ARE NOT ALONE. If you hear anything tonight, I hope you hear this, if you’re facing a battle you’re not alone. Part of our job as a church family is to lift each other up.

You may be battling sin, sickness, forgiveness, persecution, or any other thing the enemy has thrown at you, but you should know that here in this place you can find people who will EARNESTLY pray for you.

When Peter was arrested the church could have written him off as dead. I mean they just witnessed James death, why would they spend time praying for Peter?

It was because despite the circumstanced they chose to have Earnest faith.

We must be the same way. Even when things look the darkest we need to remember that God can do great and wonderful things. Never give up. Never back down. Never surrender!

When they prayed they demonstrated they understood the battle, they proved they weren’t giving up, and for my last point...

Earnest Faith Trusts in the Impossible

We can expect God to do the impossible if we obey and do the possible. Sometimes our only possible is to pray and trust!

Acts 12:7 NLT

7 Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists.

Here’s the climax of the story. Peter was set free! This impossible situation was turned around in an instant.

Earnest faith means that we should never underestimate what God can do because He is not limited by what is possible.

Whatever you’re facing. Hold on. Don’t give up. You may be hanging on by a thread, but keep hanging on. It’s not over until God says it’s over. The enemy might have you bound up on all side, but in an instant God can set you free!

Here’s something interesting:

Acts 12:8 NLT

8 Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.

The angel delivered Peter, but he did not do for the apostle what he could do for himself. The angel released him from the chains and led him out of the prison, but he told Peter to put on his own shoes, dress, and follow.

When Peter was safely on the outside, the angel left him to make his own decision.

We can expect God to do the impossible if we obey and do the possible.

Sometimes our only possible is earnest prayer and faith. God honored their prayers and drew glory to Himself. Sometimes our only possible is taking a step in faith in the right direction.

If you don’t start walking, you won’t get anywhere! Earnest faith that trusts in the impossible will always require us to do something.

We sometimes get stuck in a cycle of doing the same things over and over expecting that something will change. Well, that’s just not how it works. You might need to join a prayer group, fast, forgive, surrender, trust, serve, or just do something that you know God has been nudging you to do for years!

Peter could have missed out on the miracle if he sat there in the jail cell instead of following the angel out! How many times do we do that in a spiritual sense? Have you ever sat through a church service and felt the spirit of God speaking something to your heart? Maybe to do something, or maybe to stop something?

But you leave the church and completely forget about what the Lord was speaking to you?

Well, I for one don’t want to sit in the cell anymore. I want to get up and run out!

The key for us to have Earnest Faith is to understand the battle and count it as not too high a price to endure for relationship with Christ.

This attitude does not eliminate our uneasiness and apprehension, but it does allow us to keep moving forward. To press on instead of giving up.

When we don’t give up we are positioning ourselves to experience the power of God.

Earnest faith understands the battle, never gives up, and trusts in the impossible.