12 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who

Transcription

1 1 Audacious Praying (Acts 12:1-19) by Rev. Daniel E McDowell January 14, 2018 Peter s Miraculous Escape from Prison 12 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

2 2 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.

3 3 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. Back in 1540 Martin Luther was very distressed. His good friend and assistant, Friedrich Myconius, was sick and was expected to die within a short time. From his bed Myconius wrote a tender farewell letter to Luther. When Luther received the message, he immediately sent back this reply: I command thee in the name of God to live because I still have need of thee in the work of reforming the church -- the Lord will never let me hear that thou art dead, but will permit thee to survive me. For this I am praying, this is my will, and may my will be done, because I seek only to glorify the name of God. That s some pretty wild praying. Have you ever prayed like that? Do you think you d feel comfortable praying like that? Me neither. It almost seems like Luther was BOLDLY approaching the throne of God and making a demand. But wait a minute. Hebrews 10:19-22 tells us that since Jesus has made the ultimate sacrifice for us we have CONFIDENCE to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith We have confidence to BOLDLY enter into the most Holy Place. Into God s very throne room. And we can enter there boldly only because of the blood of Jesus Christ. No one else but a Christian is given that permission. No one else has the right to come into the very presence of God and speak to Him.

4 4 And more than that, God gives us permission! Part One: Permission to Pray Wild Prayers Jesus said I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. (Matthew 17:20) That seems fairly bold to me. It seems like a WILD thing to ask of God. Do you think God would actually answer a prayer like that? Back in 1874, there was a small group of believers in Swan Quarter, North Carolina that decided it was time to build a permanent church building to hold services in. The church committee picked out a perfect site for a church building. It was in the heart of town on its highest spot of their village. After much prayer they approached the owner of the lot, (a man named Sam Sadler) and asked to purchase the land. But Sadler wouldn t sell. Though disappointed, the congregation accepted other property in town (offered as a gift) and began to build their building. It took over a year to construct and it was a modest structure set on brick piers. Even before it was finished people began to worship in it. Just before they dedicated their new church building (Sept. 16, 1876) a huge storm swept the community. Rain fell and the wind blew well into the next day and the wind was so fierce and the tide rose so high that the force of the water moved the little church building off its foundation and it began to float down the road. It went straight down the road to a corner and bumped into a general store. The building took a sharp right turn and floated for about 2 city blocks until it reached the corner of what is now Church Street. Then it moved slightly off course, took another turn to the left and crossed the Carawan Canal and eventually settled Well well do you think it settled? Sadler s property. Exactly in the center of Sam

5 5 Sadler was so convinced he d seen the mighty hand of providence at work that he sold his land to the church. And when the building was dedicated years later, it was called Providence. It still stands today - on the property to which God moved it on that day. Now, I don t know if that church building s unusual journey was the result of prayer or not, but God sure had a little fun with Mr. Sadler that day. And I believe that God caused that to happen so that we would understand we have a God for Whom NOTHING is impossible. I have seen God do mighty things. I have seen prayers answered so many times in ways that amazed me that I could probably spend a whole hour this morning just telling you about them. But instead, I m going to tell you one that is fairly recent and it happened just blocks from my former church. The school district closed an elementary school due to declining enrollment. Not far from the school was a church which is under the leadership of an interracial couple, Chuck and Paris Maine. Chuck and Paris have a powerful testimony after the Lord delivered them from addiction and other significant challenges in the past. Chuck runs a roofing company and has little education beyond high school but he and his Paris have a heart for people who are struggling and feel that God has called them to lead others out of the darkness of addiction and spiritual oppression, guiding others on the path that they have walked with the Lord. When Chuck and Paris started their church they knew they wanted to serve the neighborhood around the school. They were meeting at the time about two blocks away from the school in a very small church that had closed years before. The small group that had formed the new Epic church bought it and began a very active ministry there but outgrew it in short order. About that time the elementary school closed and immediately Chuck and Paris felt God giving them a vision for

6 6 making this school their new ministry headquarters. They felt this school was the heart and soul of the neighborhood. One Sunday after church they led the church over to the building and walked around the church (much like Joshua and God s people marched around the walls of Jericho) and they prayed for God to give them that building. They made a bid for the building but the school system received a higher bid from a bank that needed office space. Chuck and Paris were deeply discouraged. He told me that he wasn t sure how to face his congregation the following Sunday because they were all so convinced that the Lord wanted them to have that property. But the people in his church just told their pastors to be patient; that God had a plan and He wasn t finished yet. So they continued to pray for the building. Community Bank suddenly and unexpectedly withdrew their bid freeing the property again. Epic Church resubmitted their bid and the church started making arrangements for a loan (even though Pastors Chuck and Paris were not at peace with taking on more debt). Then something even more miraculous happened. A donor (someone who is not even a member of their church!) who heard about their vision for the property offered to pay for the building! What a fantastic testimony to the power of prayer! The congregation is still fairly small but they are doing some great work in that neighborhood. God is blessing them! That brings us to our story this morning. James, the brother of John (two of the original twelve disciples) had just been put to death by King Herod. And when Herod realized how popular that execution had been he decided it was time to eliminate Peter as well. And so Peter was arrested in put under heavy guard. No one was going to get to Peter. No one would be able to break into that jail and take Peter away because Herod wouldn t allow it. But then the church began to pray. Acts 12:5 tells us the church was earnestly praying

7 7 to God for (Peter). The Greek word translated here in the NIV earnestly praying means they were praying without ceasing. Their prayers were constant before the throne of God. And God heard their prayers. God sent an angel to bring Peter out from his prison. It has been noted: The angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer that fetched the angel. This may be the oddest and wildest story about prayer in all of the Bible. First, we have Peter under arrest. He s in a locked prison cell guarded by 16 armed soldiers. The next day he s going on trial for his life but everybody knows what the verdict will be.peter is going to die. Now (quiz time) what does the Bible say Peter was doing while he s in prison? Peter was SLEEPING!!Acts 12:6 tells us 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. How on earth could Peter possibly sleep on the night before he was in danger of being condemned to death? Well, Peter had been to one of best sleep therapists the world has ever known. The Gospel of Mark 4:35-40 tells us that when evening had come, (Jesus) said to them, Let us go across to the other side. And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But (Jesus) was in the stern, ASLEEP on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea,

8 8 Peace! Be still! And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? How could Peter sleep the night before he was to be condemned? When we come back we will talk about how to get the kind of sleep therapy that Peter and Jesus enjoyed! Part Two: Embracing a God-Sized Vision What was it that gave Peter and Jesus the ability to sleep while they were in the midst of mortal danger? How could they sleep in the eye of the storm? They slept because they BELIEVED! For Peter to be able to sleep there in prison was a sign of his faith. In fact it was probably the greatest compliment he could give Jesus. I believe that when Peter prayed he just left everything before God s throne. Then he closed his eyes and went to sleep. Why? Because it didn t matter to Peter whether he lived or died the next day. The way he had it figured he couldn t lose. That s Paul wrote to the Philippians about his possible death when he faced his own execution Paul wrote: For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain (Philippians 1:21-25) Paul knew he might be executed, but if he did, he wasn t worried. If he died he d go to be with Jesus, which was something he really desired. But if he got to live, he d get the opportunity to build and strengthen Christ s church.

9 9 And that s why Peter could sleep. He figured that either way, there was no way he could lose. And so he slept. But now, notice something here. Just because Peter believed God COULD rescue him didn t mean that he believed God WOULD rescue him: 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. 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. 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. (Acts 12:7-9) Peter thought he was seeing a vision. The whole thing seemed so WILD, so outlandish, so unheard of, it NEVER crossed Peter s mind that he might actually be getting out of jail. Some years ago a motivational speaker named Ron Culberson had heard a story about a woman who d been pulled over for speeding. She handed the policeman a Monopoly card. Guess which Monopoly card she handed him? That s right. A get out of jail free card. And the policeman didn t give her a ticket. Culberson wondered if the story was true, and decided to do his own experiment to find out if it would work for him. So he began carrying a one of those cards in his car just hoping for a chance to see if it would work for him. The first time he was pulled over, his wife was with him. When she saw him pull the card out of the glove box, she spoke in very clipped tones: DO NOT GIVE HIM THAT CARD

10 10 Culberson was shamed enough by her tone that he put the card back in the dash. But, the next time he was pulled over his wife wasn t there. As the policeman approached his car, Culberson had a folder on his lap from a meeting he d attended. And on this folder, he d laid out his license and his registration and his get out of jail free card. The policeman shined his flashlight into Culberson s car, and saw the Monopoly card. There a moment of silence, and then the policeman said Get out of jail free card that s hilarious. And the policeman let him go with a warning!!! That shouldn t have happened. It was WILD. It was outlandish. It was unheard of. It shouldn t have worked. But it did. In the same way, Peter got HIS get out of jail free card. It made no sense, it was absurd. It was unheard of. It shouldn t have happened. But it did. But it wasn t until he d made it out of the jail and into the city itself that Peter came to himself and said, NOW I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me You see, God surprised Peter by what He did. And God will sometimes answer our prayers in such a wild and powerful way that it takes us by surprise as well. But the story doesn t stop there. When this had dawned on him (that he was free), he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. (Acts 12:12) Peter was supposed to be tried and executed the next day. There s a large crowd of Christians at Mary s house praying for God to deliver him. And here comes Peter in answer to their prayers. And what happens? Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it

11 11 and exclaimed, Peter is at the door! You re out of your mind, they told her. You re crazy. He can t be here.he s in jail. Have you totally lost it, Rhoda? When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, It must be his angel. But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were ASTONISHED. (Acts 12:13-16) They didn t believe Rhoda. Peter couldn t be free. He was in jail. James had already been executed! He couldn t get out. This was impossible. But wasn t this what they d been praying for? Yeah But even when they realized Peter was free, they were still astonished. So, were these folks foolish and ignorant? Had they just been going through the motions of prayer? Did God look down on them because of their lack of faith? Oh no. There s nothing in this story that speaks of condemning these people for their doubt at this point. God told us this story, so we d understand that these folks were not that much different than us. They were just like you and me. They were surprised because God had done something wild and unexpected. And they were astonished. They were amazed. And once it dawned on them what God had done they were so excited that they shared their excitement with others just like Chuck and Paris Maine shared their excitement with us! God told us that entire story in Acts 12 so that we d know that He wasn t disappointed with Peter or that prayer group. They had been faithful in prayer. They d just had no idea what God had in mind. But once they saw Peter - the result was praise and worship. And they began to share with others that they had a God for whom NOTHING was impossible. The point here was this they prayed. They prayed together. And their prayer gave them power that even a King could not oppose.

12 12 A prayer that is wild and powerful is one that we simply pray. If we pray - and pray specifically - then we tap into the very power of God. So, I m this morning I m going to challenge us to pray a WILD prayer. There are two things that are very much on my heart right now. For some time now the leadership team has been struggling with a number of concerns. We know that our roof needs replacing both the church and the annex roofs. There are lots of other issues in our building as well but those things seem secondary to me. Our building is not our primary ministry. We are here to follow Jesus, love others and build community. We can do that with or without bricks (or stone) and mortar surrounding us! Jesus said The son of man has nowhere to lay his head (meaning he was basically homeless!) So as much as I appreciate and respect this edifice we are worshiping in, it is here to facilitate ministry. We started a marketing campaign a few months ago with our embroidered shirts and hats as well as the yard signs. Soon we will have something for you to put on your cars. Those things will help to raise the visibility of the church in our community and things like the food pantry, National Night Out, hosting Town Watch and Young Lives and your investment of my time in police chaplaincy are all ways that we help make our community a better place. But we are feeling the need to make a more focused outreach to young adults in Phoenixville. A great deal of effort and sacrifice has been made to position our congregation for greater effectiveness relating to an age group that has lost its spiritual moorings and needs to experience God for the first time. This is not about filling our pews or shoring up our budget. It is about bringing lost people to a life-changing encounter with Jesus. So I m going to ask you to pray fervently as fervently as the church did for Peter back in the day that the Lord will show us how to minister more effectively

13 13 to those who need to know Christ. In fact, let s pray that Grace Crossing would lead the way into a spiritual revival in Phoenixville among young adults! It will begin with what we talked about last week being filled with the Holy Spirit and drawing nearer to God through our prayer lives, by opening our hearts more to His word and by committing ourselves to greater and deeper obedience to His will. Lori and the ACTS group will undoubtedly play a big role in this and the grant Lori recently acquired through ABCOPAD will offer some seed money in this endeavor. But ultimately this is a God-thing so it MUST be bathed in prayer and we ALL need to be united behind it! I m convinced that if we are faithful in this we will see God answer our prayers in a powerful and wild way because of your prayers for this revival. I want to close this morning s message by returning to the story of Martin Luther. I only told you part of what took place. Now, I ll tell you the rest of the story. If you ll recall, Luther wrote these words to his dying friend: "I command thee in the name of God to live because I still have need of thee in the work of reforming the church -- the Lord will never let me hear that thou art dead, BUT WILL PERMIT THEE TO SURVIVE ME. For this I am praying, this is my will, and may my will be done, because I seek only to glorify the name of God." When Myconius received Luther s note, he had already lost the ability to speak. But from that day on, he gained back his strength and was soon off his death bed. Myconius lived six more years. And died two months after Luther. That s the power of prayer. But you can t have that kind of power in prayer until you belong to Jesus. (Invitation)