Acts 12:1-19

If you would, would you please open your Bibles and turn to Acts chapter 12.

Acts 12 · chapter mention

!

I got to preach on Acts chapter 10 a little bit over a month ago.

Acts 10 · chapter mention

And before we kind of go into where Nathan brought us last week and where we are right

now, I definitely want to draw attention to something that David said in his prayer.

David was praying that we would be participating in the service through our worship, through

the music, through our prayers, through the preaching, through the receiving of the word,

through our giving.

So, painting the picture that all of this is worship, not just the music that was played.

Even as you're listening right now, like you're honoring God in the way that you receive this,

in the way that you ask God and you're praying for Him to show you what you need to see about

this text.

So, all of this is worship.

I need your prayers while I preach.

I am so, I'm not infallible like God's word is.

Thankfully, God chooses to use us.

And so, I take that very seriously.

But, please pray for me during this time.

Be praying for other people here that are bringing completely different stories into the service

who need to hear God's word.

And God's word pierces us like an arrow.

So, and each person needs to hear this in a way that God is kind of preparing their hearts for.

So, be praying for me.

Be praying for each other.

Be remembering that all of this is worship.

It's not just the music on the stage.

So, with that, let's kind of talk about where we've been in Acts so far.

Last week, Nathan preached on finishing up Acts 11.

And we kind of have seen a lot of really big pivotal things happen in Acts so far.

We've seen the church grow from just a very, very small number, a couple hundred people,

to thousands of people being added daily.

And it just, it's crazy.

And so, then we're seeing persecution come.

We see Stephen martyred.

And then we have this other big event with the Gentiles being brought in.

And we talked about that in Acts 10.

So, there's a lot of really big events.

The church is growing.

Gentiles are being added into the church, which to us doesn't seem like a big deal.

But if you're a first century Jew, that's a huge deal.

And now, what we've been doing, where we were last week,

is we were kind of talking about Paul and Barnabas.

And they're in Antioch.

So, now what the author of Acts, Luke, is doing is he's bringing us back into Jerusalem.

And if you remember, where we left in Jerusalem was Stephen being martyred.

So, we're coming back to persecution.

And you're going to see that persecution is this really, really big theme of Acts.

And we're going to kind of hit it over and over and over again.

And something that you're going to see, if you're noticing,

is that where there's persecution, there's going to be gospel growth and gospel sharing.

Where there's gospel sharing, there's going to be persecution.

It's not so much a cause and effect, but think of it as two sides of the same coin.

If you see persecution, you're going to see gospel growth.

When you see gospel growth, gospel proclamation, you will see persecution.

And we know that persecution will come to the believer.

The text that we're going to look at this morning is 2 Timothy 3.12,

which says that all who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted,

which is not an easy thing to hear.

We also know that Satan is the enemy of the gospel.

We have an enemy, and it's not our neighbors or those who disagree with us politically.

It is a spiritual enemy whose desire is to stifle the gospel

and keep the believer apart from God.

We see that it's in Ephesians where Paul is saying,

hey, our struggle is not against flesh and blood.

So it's not against people, but it's against these principalities.

It's against these authorities of the spiritual world.

And so we know that Satan is the enemy of the gospel,

and Satan's drive, his goal, is to silence the believer,

to silence the proclamation of the gospel,

to keep the believer away from God.

So the question that I'm asking, that I'm posing to you this morning is,

it's not will you respond to persecution,

but how.

How will you respond to persecution when it comes?

So with that, we're going to read Acts 12, verses 1 through 19,

Acts 12:1–19

and then we're going to pray real quick,

and then we're going to go right into it.

Starting in verse 1.

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

He killed James the brother of John with the sword,

and when he saw that it pleased the Jews,

he proceeded to arrest Peter also.

This was during the days of unleavened bread.

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.

So Peter was kept in prison,

but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

Now when Herod was about to bring him out on that very night,

Peter was sleeping between two soldiers,

bound with chains,

and centuries before the door were guarding the prison.

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 of his hands.

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.

And he went out and followed him.

He did not know what was being done by the angel was real,

but thought he was seeing a vision.

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.

When Peter came to himself, he said,

Now I am sure the Lord has sent his angel

and rescued me from the hands of Herod

and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.

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.

And when he knocked at the door of the gateway,

a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer.

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.

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.

But Peter continued knocking.

And when they opened,

they saw him,

and they were amazed.

But motioning to them with his hand to be silent,

he described to them

how the Lord had brought him out of prison.

And he said to them,

Tell these things to James and to the brothers.

Then he departed and went to another place.

Now when day came,

there was no little disturbance among the soldiers

over what became of Peter.

And after Herod searched for him and did not find him,

he examined the sentries

in order that they should be put to death.

Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea

and spent time there.

Pray with me real quickly.

Heavenly Father,

thank you for your word.

Thank you for giving it to us

that you speak to us through your word.

No other text can do that, God.

Only your word can.

Only your word can speak to us

in a unique way

that convicts us,

that encourages us.

And we pray that you would do those things this morning,

that you would use me,

God, a sinner,

that you would use me to proclaim your truth,

that there would be clarity this morning,

that we would all walk away

encouraged, convicted,

and changed by your word.

We ask this in Christ's name.

Amen.

Okay, so,

if you're taking notes,

one of the first things that we're saying right now

is that persecution will come to the believer.

Persecution will come to the believer.

That is seen in Acts chapter 12,

Acts 12:1–2

verses 1 through 2.

If you're looking at a text,

you can see about that time,

Herod the king laid violent hands

on some who belonged to the church.

He killed James,

the brother of John,

with the sword,

and when he saw that it pleased the Jews,

he proceeded to arrest Peter also.

So,

I want to take like a quick second

and just do a little bit of character clarification,

because if you're looking at the text,

it might be a little confusing who's who.

Okay, so James,

not the author of James.

Okay,

you remember,

if you recall,

Jesus is walking alongside the Sea of Galilee,

and he calls two men.

Do you remember their names?

It's James and John.

They're brothers.

That's the James that we're talking about.

So, this is,

while Stephen was the first martyr of the gospel,

this is the first apostle who's been martyred.

This is not James, brother of Jesus.

Okay,

that's the James who wrote the book of James.

Okay,

second thing,

his brother is John.

Later on in the story,

they talk about John Mark.

That's not James' brother.

Okay,

next thing I need to say,

when Peter asks about,

let's see,

verse 17,

he says,

tell these things to James.

It's not the James that just died.

So,

he knows.

He's talking about James,

Justice,

brother of Jesus,

who's now going to start kind of leading the church in Jerusalem.

Second thing is Herod.

There's a lot of Herods.

Okay,

there's Herod,

the one that tried to kill baby Jesus.

That's not the Herod we're talking about.

There's the Herod that questioned Jesus.

That's Herod Antipas.

Okay,

that's not the one that we're talking about here.

Herod Agrippa,

that's the one we're talking about.

He's the one who we're going to continue on with the story later on.

Okay,

so,

the couple things that we see here in the text.

Do you guys notice that James just kind of gets persecuted and killed with no trial?

Like,

there's nothing that happens.

There's no,

there's no,

like,

he goes before a public forum.

There's no,

there's nothing.

It's just James is,

at least that's the way that Luke describes it in the text,

is James is just killed.

Out of nowhere.

And then,

you'll see what Herod does,

is he kind of waits to see what the Jews are going to react to it.

So,

he kills James.

Herod is kind of looking for the applause of man in this.

And he sees,

okay,

well,

how are the Jews going to react to this?

And they react favorably.

And he's like,

okay,

I'm going to kill Peter next.

So,

he throws Peter in prison.

Again,

no trial.

Think about that.

That's you.

I mean,

no trial here.

And you're just,

there's no one to say,

no,

no,

no,

this guy,

he's a good man.

He should not die.

There's no one to do that.

If you were thrown in prison,

you would have friends who'd be able to come to your call,

and they would be able to voice their opinion for you,

and vouch for you,

and say,

no,

this is a good woman.

This is a good man.

That does not happen to James or Peter.

They don't get that opportunity.

So,

it's so,

it's so incredibly unjust.

And so,

Peter's next in line,

and the thing that,

the reason why he hasn't been executed yet,

is so that Passover can be honored.

There's this really tragic irony in upholding the law,

and upholding these feasts,

so that once those are done,

then we can kill our guy.

So,

again,

Peter's next in line to die,

and the only thing that's waiting on that,

is Herod's approval,

and the Passover being completed.

And so,

like James and Peter,

we're going to be persecuted just the same.

It's going to look differently,

and there's reasons why I would say,

we too will be persecuted.

The first reason is that Jesus is our master.

This is huge to get.

John 15,

20.

So,

Jesus is talking to his disciples,

and he says,

remember the word that I said to you,

a servant is not greater than his master.

If they persecuted me,

they will persecute you.

If they kept my word,

they will also keep yours.

Okay,

this is worth turning to,

2 Timothy 3.12.

Okay,

so,

Paul is writing this verse,

not from the comfort of freedom,

and the comfort of a library somewhere,

or a study.

Paul is writing this in chains,

knowing that his execution is near.

So,

Paul is writing this text,

and he says in verse 12,

indeed,

all who desire to live a godly life in Christ,

will be persecuted,

while evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse,

deceiving,

and being deceived.

So,

that's huge to get,

because Peter,

Paul is not saying that from theory.

He's saying that from personal experience.

And,

so,

again,

the first reason is that Jesus is our master.

We're identifying with Christ,

we will be persecuted.

The second reason is that

we're foreign to the world.

Peter kind of exhorts his writers over and over again,

saying,

hey,

you guys are strangers and exiles.

And then we see that theme with Paul where he says,

hey,

you're to be in the world,

but not of the world.

So,

saying that

this earth is not our home.

The ways of the world are not our ways.

We are called out of this world.

We are called out of sin,

and we're called strangers and exiles.

So,

the world will see that we are,

we don't go with everything that the world goes with.

So,

that we're foreign to the world.

It's not a question of,

like I said earlier,

it's not a question of will we respond to persecution,

but how will we respond to persecution?

Because of these reasons,

Jesus is our master,

we're strangers and exiles to the world.

We're going to appear different,

because we've been called out of darkness,

so we no longer look like that darkness.

So,

how are we going to respond?

The first thing is that,

we can kind of look at,

the reaction of the church.

The church is persecuted,

and it doesn't shrink back,

but instead it goes forth of a message even more,

and it proclaims it even more.

It's that two sides of the same coin.

There's persecution,

there's going to be gospel proclamation,

and the church doesn't shrink back from that gospel proclamation,

and so,

as people who will be persecuted,

we respond by,

not being surprised,

when it comes.

The church isn't shocked by it.

And if they are,

Luke doesn't add that into the story.

It makes it very clear,

that the church,

responds to James being killed unjustly,

out of nowhere,

with no trial,

and Peter being next in line,

they respond with prayer,

they're not surprised,

they're not going,

and creating a mob,

and demanding justice.

They're counting it all joy.

And then they're praying.

We're going to get into that in a minute,

but that's the church's response.

Do you see that?

Like,

it's so important to see.

Okay,

persecution comes,

the church prays.

That's the church's response.

Not surprised.

Yes,

grieved.

I don't want to,

I don't want to understate that,

that the church is some machine,

that is so godly,

and so holy,

that when one of their own gets killed,

or someone doesn't get healed,

they're immediately like,

well,

God is good,

we're just going to pray,

and that's what we're going to do.

Like,

no,

I'm sure,

like,

by no means do I believe,

that the church was not mourning James' death,

and they weren't crying out.

Like,

I absolutely believe that.

So,

church is not mechanical in that.

But,

it isn't surprised,

and they respond in prayer,

grief,

and in prayer.

The thing that I want to ask is,

okay,

so what if we aren't seeing persecution in our lives?

This is a big question.

We're,

we're seeing the type of persecution here,

where someone's being executed,

and thrown in jail,

wrongly.

So,

we're not seeing that.

We're sharing the gospel,

but we're not seeing ourselves be thrown in jail.

And thankfully,

our,

our government protects us in that way.

But,

nonetheless,

the promise is true.

Right?

The promise is true,

that all who desire to live a godly life,

will be persecuted.

There is not,

this,

explanation that he gives,

saying like,

unless you're living,

in a country that allows you to share the gospel.

No,

no,

he's just saying,

hey,

all who desire to live a godly life,

will be persecuted.

So,

what if we don't see that though?

What if you're looking around,

you're saying,

well,

we're not seeing that.

Again,

I'm not saying it's going to look exactly like the way it's looking in Acts.

At least in this country,

it won't.

For now.

But,

I want to give a couple reasons,

why I don't think we see persecution happen all the time.

And,

the first reason is that there are spiritual forces at work.

So,

like we said earlier,

again,

our struggle is not against flesh and blood,

but it's against these spiritual forces.

And so,

Satan is happy to not persecute us,

if it means that we enjoy our luxuries more than we do share the gospel.

So,

it's a particular challenge that we face in the West.

Because we have all of our comforts,

and we do have these freedoms and these liberties that allow us to not have to worry about gathering this morning and reading the Bible.

But,

Satan doesn't see a need for us to be persecuted if we're already doing what he wants us to do, which is silence.

Which,

if we're not proclaiming the gospel boldly.

And,

again,

comforts are a blessing.

Material things in and of themselves are not evil.

But,

they can be a distraction,

right?

Like,

they can be a distraction from us knowing why we're here,

getting caught up,

getting caught up in everything that is happening in our season of life.

Whether it is,

like,

you're in college.

Like,

things that Satan wants you to focus on,

which is your schoolwork.

And,

making sure that you get through that.

Making sure that you get the grades that you need.

And,

there's so many different stages.

I mean,

that we could kind of go on and on and on about.

But,

I'm just saying that our comforts can be a blessing,

but they can be a distraction.

And,

I think that we can be Christians who are over-medicated by luxury.

Remember,

all who strive to live a godly life will be persecuted.

We will be persecuted.

It'll look differently,

but we will be persecuted.

So,

the first reason we're saying that there's spiritual forces at work.

The second,

and this is also the third reason,

so you're going to have to listen to both.

The second reason is that,

second and third is that,

we either aren't striving to live godly lives,

or,

we aren't people who have God in our lives.

So,

we either aren't striving to live godly lives,

or,

we aren't people who have God in our lives.

So,

I hope that you're catching my heart,

and what I'm saying with that.

So,

I think that,

what's really happened is that we have,

we hear that,

we hear that phrase,

that,

that verse,

all who desire to live a godly life,

will be persecuted.

And,

we've redefined the word godly,

to suit our lifestyles,

to mean something different than what Paul is talking about here.

And remember,

it's two sides of the same coin.

Persecution,

and gospel proclamation.

They go hand in hand.

It's not a cause and effect,

but what we're saying is,

if there is one,

there will be the other.

I'm saying,

yes,

if you share the gospel at work,

it's possible you might get passed over for a promotion.

It's possible that,

if you share the gospel at work,

you might lose your job.

It's possible that,

if you share the gospel with your friends,

that you might face social isolation.

You might get passed over for things.

It's possible that,

you might share the gospel with your classmates,

and suffer for it grade-wise.

It's going to take different forms,

but I'm saying that there is a cost to sharing the gospel.

And when there is gospel proclamation,

there is persecution.

I am saying that it's possible that you could share the gospel,

and not be persecuted,

and not experience hardship.

I'm saying it's possible.

I just don't think that it's likely.

I would be hard,

you would be hard-pressed to find someone who is boldly proclaiming the gospel,

and is not experiencing any problems with that.

And here's the thing.

We will bear fruit.

If we're believers,

and we've been changed,

we will bear fruit.

And to some,

that'll taste like a peach.

But to others,

it'll taste like a lime.

And the gospel will be a cold glass of water

to someone who's in need of refreshing,

and whose soul is weary,

and they're thinking about spiritual things.

It will be a cold glass of water to them.

But to those who have no desire for it,

who reject it,

it will be a glass of vinegar.

It's a polarizing effect.

So what I'm saying is,

if we're seeing little to no polarizing effect with our words,

we're looking less and less like our Lord,

and that should make us pause.

And that should make us wonder

if we actually do know and are communing with God.

That should make us pause.

That should make us ask,

all right, God,

am I desiring to live a godly life

the way that you have defined that in the Bible?

Okay, next thing that we're saying

is that prayers should be made by the church.

We've talked about persecution,

and we're saying,

okay, prayers will be made by the church.

You see that as the response from the church

that this event happens to.

Look at verse 5 and 12.

Verse 5,

So James has been killed.

Peter's thrown in prison,

and he's scheduled to be executed by the end of the day,

and the church is praying in response.

Interestingly enough,

there's one person who's not praying.

Did you notice that?

The guy who's about to die is not praying.

He's, like, sleeping.

And it's like,

I feel like we've been here before.

Something big is about to happen,

and someone should be praying,

and it's always Peter,

and he's sleeping.

It's like,

he either, like,

is the most relaxed guy in the world

who's just not worried.

He's like,

God's sovereign in this,

or that dude just loves him some sleep.

Which I can identify with.

The other interesting thing,

just as a little side note,

do you notice that,

okay,

the church is praying for Peter's release,

but when Peter is actually released,

they're surprised.

Like,

it's either,

again,

they were either surprised,

like,

they didn't think that what was going to happen

was going to happen,

or it didn't happen the way they thought

it was going to happen.

It's like,

it's really,

really odd.

I'm not trying to critique the church too much there,

but it's like,

what?

So,

so Luke,

the author,

he takes significant time

to talk about prayer in the story.

Like,

why,

why did he go so much into this,

why did he go into that story of,

like,

Peter shows up,

the church is praying,

and then the servant girl goes,

and they're like,

and she's like,

hey,

it's Peter.

And they're like,

no,

no,

it's not,

and they keep praying.

Like,

why does,

why does Luke go into that story?

I think he goes into that

to show,

to talk,

to make a significant point

to talk about prayer.

So,

because of that,

I'm saying that we should be praying collectively.

That's what the church is doing in this instance.

So,

individual prayer should be happening,

yes.

But that should already be going on.

And group prayer should be a knee-jerk reaction

like it is here.

And again,

that's why Luke attaches that

to this text.

He's trying to make this point.

They're persecuted.

They're thrown in jail.

Something like,

unjustly,

prayer's happening.

Again,

not mechanically,

but it is a knee-jerk reaction.

And it's important to remember

that God uses man's prayers

as a vehicle,

as a means to accomplish his will.

Does he need us?

No.

He's totally sovereign,

entirely in control,

but he uses our prayers

as a vehicle,

as a means.

If you recall,

Acts 10,

you could flip over one page,

and you could see that in verse 4,

Cornelius,

who's the centurion,

he's praying to God.

Listen to the way

that God describes his prayers.

He says,

Cornelius is praying,

and then this angel appears,

and in verse 4 it says,

and he stared at him in terror,

and he said,

what is it, Lord?

And he said to him,

your prayers and your alms

have ascended

as a memorial before God.

That phrasing,

another version says it's,

your prayers have ascended

as a fragrant offering to God.

So it's like God,

it's like you smelling something

really, really delicious,

and it's like,

oh man,

that gets me going,

I love that.

And that's Cornelius' prayers

in this instance,

and that's what we're saying

with this text,

is that our prayers,

they please God.

Our prayers please God.

God uses them as a means,

and they please him.

But praying collectively

is not a knee-jerk reaction for us,

if we're honest.

I think that individual prayer

sometimes can be,

and that most of us,

our reaction is to pray,

and that's good,

but I don't want to leave out

this piece of collective,

group-wide prayer.

Often it's not a knee-jerk reaction.

The thing is that group-wide prayer,

if you have noticed,

if you are,

is anyone here like a,

like you love to people-watch sometimes,

you love to notice trends

and like the way that people do things

and just the interesting things

that go on during prayer.

Have you noticed that it's awkward sometimes

that we're easily distracted,

and we feel pressure to impress

in our prayers?

It can feel forced, right?

Like our group prayer,

when we say like,

okay, let's get together

and let's pray,

if you've been in your community groups,

like you've probably experienced

some difficulty in group prayer.

Like it doesn't just flow like water,

it's just,

sometimes it's difficult

and it's not as easy

as you would hope it would be.

And I think that reveals something

about our view of God in prayer.

Sometimes we view prayer

as like a ceremony or a ritual

that we have to go about.

There's these certain rules

that make up prayer.

So what I'm talking about

with the people-watching thing,

some things that I thought about,

like the rules that kind of affect prayer,

here are the rules of prayer

that I've noticed.

If you're going to pray,

you must always announce,

all right, let's pray now.

Again, none of these,

I'm not critiquing them

and saying they're really, really terrible.

It's just showing something about like,

I feel like we can all identify

with different rules.

So there's the,

we have to announce

that we have to pray,

that we're going to pray.

It's not like if someone

was sharing something with me

and I was like,

man, that's really, really good.

God, like what do you,

like we want you to accomplish it.

Like we couldn't just go into that necessarily.

It would be like,

okay, like let's all gather together

and let's pray right now.

Sometimes you'll get in that time

where it's like,

if we're going to pray,

we're going to pray to the left

and you're going to pray

for the person to your left

and they're going to pray

and we're going to complete

the circle here.

And then the other thing is,

if you've ever gotten in a situation

where you're in a group

and everyone's prayed

but two people,

it's like this unspoken agreement

between that person and you

that like,

I won't have to pray

if you don't pray

and then we'll wait.

We'll wait this thing out.

We will like go through the storm here

and then someone,

someone else will say amen

and so amen signals

the end of our prayer time.

It's like this unspoken agreement

and it's just like,

that's just human nature.

Like that's okay.

I'm not critiquing it

and saying like that's the worst thing

in the world.

I'm just saying that sometimes,

and I feel like other people

can share more rules

but it seems like there are rules to prayer

which again is,

I think it's reflecting something

about our view of prayer.

We view prayer

as a ritual or a ceremony

with certain rules

rather than commuting

with the Almighty.

Hardly can we say

prayer is a knee-jerk reaction.

When was the last time,

just as a gauge,

when was the last time

we prayed for more than 30 minutes?

When was the last time

that we cried out in prayer

and showed emotion in our prayers?

When was the last time

that we did that?

And I don't want to come down too hard

but I do want to say

I think this is a muscle

that you have to work out.

Just like anything.

Like someone needed to show you

how to read your Bible.

Someone needed to show you

how to share the gospel.

And just like that,

learning how to pray collectively

is not an easy thing

and we need,

it's a muscle

that we have to work out.

So how do we do that?

I have a really complicated plan

for how we do that.

We just start doing it.

It's not something

that we need to overthink.

As you leave here,

like are you praying right now?

As you leave today,

as you go over your meals,

like are you thinking about

how do we pray?

How do we ask God

that He would transform our hearts?

It starts with,

what about the one-on-one encounters?

What about with the

quarter group discipleships?

Like are you making prayer a focus?

I have noticed that

in the times that I've discipled guys,

prayer has not been a focus.

It's been something that we do

at the very, very end of our meeting.

It is not the focus of it.

And I feel like in some ways,

I've failed certain guys

by not showing them

how important prayer is.

By not letting that be a major focus.

I let the content

that we're going through

be the main focus.

And at the very end,

we have like a quick little prayer.

But rarely have I

like gotten with these guys

and be like, hey, like,

let's cry out together.

Let's really labor for the people

that we are praying for

and we want to see changed

and transformed.

So it starts there.

It starts in your core groups.

It starts in your community groups.

And it's just something that

we sometimes,

and this isn't for every case,

but sometimes we have to

act our way into right thinking

rather than think our way

into right acting.

And with that,

we should be praying expectantly.

Right?

The church, again,

the thing is that

they are praying,

but they,

it's like there's some disconnect.

Again, it's either

they were praying

and things didn't happen

the way they thought

they were going to happen

or they didn't,

or they just didn't think

it was going to happen at all.

There's something

that's a little bit off

in the church here

in chapter,

or verse 12 of chapter 12.

So this verse that came to mind

is James 1, 5.

And if you want to turn there

real quick,

it'll be one of the last ones

that you'll turn to.

So,

starting in verse 5,

James is talking about

praying for wisdom here,

but the principle

is still the same.

He says in verse 5,

If any of you lacks wisdom,

let him ask God

who gives generously to all

without reproach,

and it will be given him.

But let him ask in faith

with no doubting,

for the one who doubts

is like a wave of the sea

that is driven

and tossed by the wind.

For that person

must not suppose

that he will receive

anything from the Lord.

He is a double-minded man,

unstable in all his ways.

So,

James is touching on this point

of like,

hey,

not doubting when you pray,

believing,

praying expectantly.

How often is it

that we pray for something,

whether it's healing

or a job

or an opportunity

to share the gospel,

and then it doesn't happen,

and it's like

we're the first ones,

God's like the first one

that we do blame.

We're like,

oh,

like why,

or question,

or just get frustrated with,

like,

God,

why didn't you do that?

But,

when God does answer that prayer,

it's almost like

we write it off

as like it was going

to happen anyways.

Like,

I mean,

I interviewed,

well,

like I prepared

for that interview.

And we're like,

no,

like,

I mean,

like the doctors knew

what they were doing.

They're like,

they're great doctors.

And like,

we thank God,

we like throw up a prayer to God

and like,

thank you.

But it's not like

it consumes us like,

oh my gosh,

we prayed that this person

would be healed

and God used the doctors

and he was healed.

Like,

so we were the first ones

to blame God,

but when he does answer

our prayers,

like we often like

skirt that joy.

the other thing

that I thought

was something

that we kind of

might struggle with

a little bit more

in the reform camp

and I have to say this

very,

very carefully

and I ask you

to hear my heart

in this.

So,

we know about

the sovereignty

of God.

We know that God

is good,

that he doesn't need us,

that he's going to do

what he's going to do

and that he uses

our prayers.

We have a tendency

to keep ourselves

from truly praying

expectantly

in this way.

And again,

hear my heart in this.

I think that

we know that God

is not the God

of the wealth

and prosperity gospel

and we know that

just because he doesn't

give us what we ask

for in prayer,

we know that he's

still good.

But,

and we know that

it's right for Jesus

to pray in the garden,

hey,

let this cut past

before me,

but your will,

not my.

Right?

So,

we get that concept

that Jesus is saying,

hey,

I really want this

to happen,

but it's not my will,

I'm submitting

to your will.

And I think that

where we hurt ourselves

when it comes to

praying expectantly

is that anytime

that we pray for something,

again,

a job interview,

healing,

gospel sharing,

we will ask for that

and then we'll always

follow that up with,

but if it's your will,

God,

like,

if that's what you

want to happen,

then make that happen.

And,

again,

while I'm saying

that that's right,

because we're so quick

to follow it up,

I think that

if we're not careful,

it can be a subtle way

for us to insulate

ourselves from pain,

that

when God doesn't

answer the prayer

the way that we

want him to,

it's almost like

we already protected

ourselves,

we saw that happening

two or three steps

down the line

and we were like,

but if it's your will

to not let that happen,

then let me be okay

with it.

And,

again,

I'm not saying

that's wrong,

I'm not saying

that's bad,

I'm just saying

it is something

that can subtly

keep us from

praying expectantly.

It's good and

biblical to say

this,

but while it can

soften the blow

of our disappointment,

it can also

stifle our praise

for when God

does answer

our prayers.

Do you see that?

Like,

it's super,

super subtle,

and I'm not saying

don't pray for God's

will to be done,

I'm just saying

it's something

that we need

to be on guard

for.

Like,

okay,

when I pray this,

when I say,

let your will be

done,

am I insulating

myself from pain

in case you don't

give that to me?

Because I think

that that hurts us

again in the way

that we praise God

when he does come

through with those

things.

I'm not suggesting

that we adopt

a name it and claim

it mentality

when it comes to

prayer,

that's not what

I'm suggesting.

I'm saying that

we pray expectantly

knowing that God

hears.

We don't need to

pray harder,

you don't need to

pray louder.

We pray expectantly

knowing that,

we pray expectantly

so that our praise

or our hurt

are not stifled.

We let God

work through that.

Even in the painful

moments,

we still let God

work through that.

We still wrestle

through that.

We don't numb

ourselves so that

it doesn't hurt

as bad.

So let's pray

expecting God

to work in power

because power

will be displayed

by God

for his church.

So this is my

kind of last

and final point

is that power

will be displayed

by God

for his church.

How?

We're saying it's

for God's purposes.

There is this

interesting detail

where James is killed

but not Peter.

There's much rejoicing

over the fact

that Peter

is released

miraculously

but that miracle

didn't come to James

and God saw that

it was good

for that to happen.

There were different

outcomes

for different men.

One got to come

home and one didn't.

But God is good

in both situations.

God is glorified

in the martyrdom

of James

and in the release

of Peter.

Could he have

released James?

Absolutely.

100%.

Like none of us

are doubting that.

God uses it

for his purposes.

We see that

Peter's released.

He encourages

the church.

He reminds them

of God's sovereignty

and God's

continued plan

to use Peter

to advance

the gospel.

And the other

thing that's great

about God's power

being displayed

by God

for his church

is that God

does this

because of us

but also

in spite of us.

So,

their prayers,

God uses those prayers.

Those are

the means,

the vehicle

that God

accomplishes

his purposes.

But,

Peter's sleeping

and the church

isn't praying

completely expectantly.

You know what I mean?

Like those are the

two things

that are a little

off about the situation

but God still

answers their prayers.

So,

God works

because of our prayers

but also in spite

of our prayers.

Like he does,

he is sovereign,

he is good.

He doesn't need

our prayers

but he invites us

in to have

them be the means,

that vehicle

that drives his will.

And then this is

the why.

Why does God

use his power

to be displayed

for the church?

This is

the biggest point,

guys.

God is entirely

devoted to

the advancing

of the gospel.

He is relentless

in it.

Nothing

will keep

the gospel

from being advanced.

Okay,

the miracle

is awesome

but there's

a bigger purpose

to it

and I don't want

to say

don't pay attention

to the miracle

because just stop

and think for a second

like the insanity

of this miracle.

The fact that

Peter is guarding,

so what would have

happened is

he has a

chain around

one leg

and a chain

around the other

and those are

both connected

to guards

and there are

two guards

guarding the doors

and there's

four of these

four man groups

and they take

different shifts.

So it's like

you would think

that they were

guarding the most

valuable man

in the world

or the most

violent man

in the world

but they're

guarding Peter

who's done

no violence.

It's an odd

thing but

nevertheless

it's almost

it's almost

like God

uses that

uses man's

attempts

to prevent

Peter from

escaping

just to show

how big

and powerful

God is.

Nothing

stands in

God's way.

He suspends

his own

laws of

physics.

The laws

that he

created

he suspends

them.

He says

you will not

hold this man

any longer

and the chains

fall off of him.

He shines

this light

in the cell

and it wakes

up Peter

after touching

him

but not

the guards.

He walks

through the gate

the gate

opens for him

he walks

out of the city.

Like this

is a big deal

like God

suspends

all of these

things

all these

things

that would

be impossible

for the sake

of God

building up

his church

and advancing

the gospel.

That is the

point of this

miracle here.

It's not

just to say

oh that was

super cool

and I think

that God's

neat

and isn't

he powerful

no it's

to say God's

relentless

in his pursuit

of the gospel

and he will

accomplish it

and he's

using Peter.

The physical

properties

bend their

knees

to God's

purposes.

God is

entirely

about

the

proclamation

of the gospel

entirely.

So in

closing thoughts

I believe

that Luke

wrote this

text

to encourage

the church

to remain

steadfast

steadfast

under persecution

steadfast

in prayer

because of

our belief

in God's

power.

Steadfast

in prayer

that we'll

believe that

God will

hear our

prayers

and he

will

accomplish

his will.

And it's

easy to look

inward

I believe

it's easy

to look

inward

and be a

little bit

discouraged

or maybe

be discouraged

or maybe see

this as an

indictment

on our

lack of

prayer

or our

lack of

belief

sometimes

or our

lack to

proclaim

the gospel

when we

really need

to

because we're

afraid of

uncomfortable

situations

because

a million

different

reasons

it's easy

to look

in that

and especially

for myself

I know

that I

fail so

much of

this

like I

am not

the greatest

of this

I'm in

that group

I'm in

that camp

where I'm

saying guys

I've

redefined

godliness

to mean

something

different

to mean

something more

palatable

for me

something

that's a

little bit

more

comfortable

for me

so that

I can

still say

that I

am my

own

instead

of saying

I'm

gods

and I'm

bought

with a

price

and it's

no longer

me

but it's

Christ

like I

want to

avoid

that

and I

fail at

this

so please

please

hear me

but

in that

even though

it's easy

to be

discouraged

the message

is not

try harder

the message

is not

pray louder

pray more

or that

you need to

believe more

or that

your faith

is little

that's not

the message

that we're

saying

it would

be a

travesty

to believe

that

to get

that out

of this

message

that okay

we need

to go

home

we need

to pray

more

and we need

to be

more godly

and we need

to share

the gospel

more

and like

hoo-ha-hoo

let's go

like that's

not the

message

and it

would be

like a

travesty

for us

to go

in that

direction

instead

what we're

saying

is that

god's

power

his

message

centers

on

himself

nothing

will

stand

in god's

will

nothing

will

stand

in god's

way

of the

gospel

and that's

not dependent

upon us

at all

it's not

dependent

upon how

good we

are

but

god

invites

us

to be

a part

of that

so here's

what i'm

saying that

the messages

of this

to you

that we

go home

with this

is that

remind

yourself

of that

daily

remind

yourself

of that

right now

remind

yourself

of that

as we're

about to

take the

lord's

supper

remind

yourself

of what

christ

has done

for us

and how

god

has

redeemed

us

from

darkness

and

taken

us

into

light

and

jesus

is

our

master

and

we

are

formed

the

world

that's

what

we

remind

!

ourselves

of

!

not

try

harder

you need

to pray

more

you need

to believe

more

it's

believing

that god

will accomplish

his purposes

and reminding

ourselves

of that

and then

reminding

each other

of that

in your

core

groups

reminding

each other

of that

in your

community

groups

that god

is relentless

about his

pursuit of the

gospel

and he

uses us

and we

get to be

a part

of that

that

is what

i want

us to hear

out of this

i want

us to hear

that

god

invites

our

prayers

in

persecution

will

come

and it

should

come

if

there's

gospel

proclamation

there's

going to

be

persecution

but it's

all

relying

on

it's

all

hinging

on

god's

power

believing

that god

will

accomplish

what

he

desires

to

accomplish

let's

pray