The Gospel Unchained - Acts 12v1-25

Well, good morning.

My name is Dave Riesnes.

In case uh you don't know me, um I'm a member here at Emanuel.

It's a real pleasure to be able to meet together this morning um around a wonderful chapter um of God's word.

If you don't know, we're in the book of Acts now.

We started last week in Acts 11.

We'll be looking at Acts chapter 12 today.

Acts 12 · chapter mention

But before we get into the word, maybe I could ask you a question.

How do you react to being under pressure?

How do you react to being under pressure?

Now, I expect there may be many answers among us in this room.

Some react well to pressure, don't they?

They get more focused, sharper, maybe more efficient.

And others don't react so well.

Apply enough pressure, and well, I don't know, maybe they'll turn and run the other way.

Something like the England team at the World Cup, perhaps.

I don't know.

Was it too early for that?

Now I've heard that there are a couple of uh YouTube channels, in fact, I don't know if you've seen these, which are devoted to this question.

Testing various things and how they react to pressure.

And the way they do this is they take all kinds of items, placing them under a hydraulic press, and applying incredible pressure to them and seeing what happens.

Apparently, that counts as entertainment for some.

That's a little bit like what we see happening in Acts chapter 12.

Acts 12 · chapter mention

And we'll see that this morning.

We find it's the church in the hydraulic press.

Pressure is applied, and we find out how it responds.

And it's a chance for us to consider.

As a church here at Emmanuel, how do we respond to pressure?

Well, let me pray for us and we'll get into chapter 12.

Let's pray.

Father God, we praise you.

You are a God who speaks.

We thank you that we can look into your word together today.

And Lord, we pray that by your spirit you would help us understand and to do the things that you teach us today.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, last week, if you were with us, we were in Acts 11, and we heard about our church's roots, where we came from.

We heard of the amazing growth in the first Gentile church all those years ago in Antioch.

We had read at the end of that chapter that a great many were added to the laws.

We finished last week with Paul and Barnabas.

They'd been sent by their church to Jerusalem.

And that's where we are this week.

We're in Jerusalem.

And just for this chapter, as Paul and Barnabas at the end are going to travel back to Antioch.

And so here in chapter 12, Luke, the author of this book, he focuses our attention on Jerusalem.

And it's an opportunity to show us the world in which the church was growing.

A bit of the political situation as well.

And well, I'm afraid it's not very pretty.

This was not an easy time to be called a Christian.

It certainly was a church under pressure.

The king at this time was King Herod, Herod Agrippa.

Well, let me read for us.

I'm first going to read just the first five verses.

So do follow along in your Bibles.

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.

And so Peter was kept in prison.

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

So this is a church under pressure.

Herod, he had laid violent hands on some of the church.

It wasn't only James, was it?

There are others too imprisoned.

But for James, well, Herod had him executed.

I'm sure you'll remember James and John the apostles, the two brothers who are disciples of Jesus.

And now James has been executed.

And what is the result?

Well, Herod sees how this pleases many of those in Jerusalem, many of the Jews.

And so he's going to do it again.

He arrests Peter.

He's not just arrested, is he?

He is treated as a high security criminal.

Many guards are assigned to him.

And this is during the days of unleavened bread.

The Passover feast is coming.

And so Herod intends he's going to keep Peter in prison.

Afterwards, bring him out to the people in verse 4.

Now we know what that means, don't we?

Bring him out to the people.

He's not going to release him.

This is going to be the next public execution.

Now imagine what the podcasts in Jerusalem would have been discussing at this time.

Saying how, after initial growth, the church is now cracking under pressure.

How Herod has brought the church to its knees.

No doubt there are many opinions on how all the early and promising start that the church has made were now coming to nothing.

Well, this was the level of the godless opposition that the church faced in those days in Jerusalem.

And so we can ask, can't we, how did they react to pressure?

Well, take a look at verse 5.

We know the answer, don't we?

They really were driven to their knees.

Verse 5, Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

The believers they gathered, they prayed.

What a great example we have here, don't we?

To have hearts that don't respond in anger or desire for revenge on the one hand, and don't, on the other hand, respond in hopelessness or despair.

But to have hearts that seek the Lord, hearts that turn to him, that lean on him.

A God who is strong, hearts that come to him in prayer.

We find many of the Psalms directing us in this same way, don't we?

It's wonderful.

We were able to read Psalm 83 today, which did just that.

Another one of our favorites is Psalm 121.

What does that one say?

I'm going to see if the children are awake and listening.

I know some of them know this one.

Maybe one of them can finish it for me.

I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come?

My help.

My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

Well done.

Thank you.

Glad to know you're awake, children.

So this is how the Jerusalem church responded.

On their knees in prayer, turning to the Lord for help.

Let me put this up on the screen.

Here's what we've got so far.

Hope you can see that.

When godless opposition brings the church to its knees.

We're going to continue and see what the passage adds to that statement.

There'll be three things we'll add this morning.

And so let me read the rest of the chapter now.

We'll see what happens next.

From verse 6.

Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell.

He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, Get up quickly.

And the chains fell off his hands.

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 that 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 that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand 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're 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 were amazed.

But motioning them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison.

And he said, Tell these things to James and to the brothers.

Then he departed and went to another place.

Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.

And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death.

Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.

Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food.

On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them.

And the people were shouting, The voice of a God, not of a man.

Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

But the word of God increased and multiplied, and Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.

Praise God for his wonderful word.

Wow.

Incredible scenes, aren't they, in this chapter?

Now when the church is on its knees turning to the Lord, this is when things get exciting.

We see things like this in the movies, don't we?

It's when the hero is up against it, slim chances of success, almost without hope.

And what happens?

The hero's theme music comes on, doesn't it?

And we know when that happens, something amazing is about to happen.

This is my uh memory of the uh James Bond movies uh back in the day, when the James Bond theme tune comes on, you know he's about to be a hero.

Well, if there's any moment in the life of a Christian or in the life of a church when the hero's theme music should begin to play, surely it's when the church is gathered to pray.

When they're on their knees petitioning the Lord, this is when we can expect him to be working among us.

Now, I'm not suggesting we start playing the James Bond theme tune at the beginning of our prayer meetings.

But perhaps that's the kind of expectation we should have when we're gathered together to pray.

Well, let's see then in what incredible ways God was working among his church.

Peter's in prison.

He has some over-the-top security assigned to him.

Between two soldiers, probably chained to them.

Other sentries are at the door.

No way out, no chance of escape, and no problem whatsoever for the Lord.

He's woken by an angel, isn't he?

And the chains fall off.

Peter kind of finds it a blur, doesn't he?

It's recorded here.

He feels like it's a vision.

He can't quite keep up with what's going on, and the angel has to remind him not to leave his sandals or his cloak behind.

He follows the angel out, and the door opens for them.

They're out into the street.

It's only when the angel disappears that Peter realizes this has actually happened.

He could hardly believe it, but God has rescued him from the hand of Herod.

This is kind of typical of God's rescues, isn't it?

By this point in the Bible, we know well that God is a rescuing God.

But typical of God's rescues, his people are, well, they're just not a great deal of help in the process, are they?

I mean, Peter, perhaps he could have hurried along a little bit, I don't know.

He didn't even have to push the gate open, did he?

God did everything and pulled off an incredible rescue.

And well, what follows, I mean, it kind of has an element of comedy to it, doesn't it?

Peter, he's there and he heads to Mary's house.

This is Mary, the mother of John.

Not the Apostle John, this is, we sometimes call him John Mark, a character we're going to meet a little more later in the book of Acts.

But Mary's house, it happens to be the place where the believers have gathered to pray.

To pray for Peter's rescue.

Amazing, isn't it?

You know, I wonder how often this happens when we gather to pray, and God has actually already done what we're asking him for, and we just don't know it yet.

I'm sure that happens a lot more often than we think.

Well, Peter, he knocks on the door, and um, strangely, I mean, what does he find?

It's harder to get into Mary's house than it was to get out of prison.

The servant girl Rhoda comes to the door, doesn't she?

And so excited, she goes back to interrupt the prayer meeting rather than letting Peter in.

Yeah, I feel a little bit sorry for Rhoda.

I'm sure she's gonna have to relive this for an eternity as the believers bring it up with her.

Well, Peter, he goes in, he tells them all about it, doesn't he?

Asks them to tell James as well.

This is James, the uh the leader of the church.

He's the brother of Jesus.

And so just consider what's happened in this chapter, then, in chapter 12.

How are we to understand this?

Chapter 11, last week, we saw a church and with great growth, the church advancing.

Is chapter 12 now a church in retreat?

Isaiah 12 · chapter mention

Is this the kind of ebb and flow of the church's progress?

Well, no, I don't think it is.

I'm sure you noticed it, but look again at verse 24 a little later.

What does it say?

The word of God increased and multiplied.

Chapter 12, yes, it's a chapter of opposition, isn't it?

But it's not retreat.

Because we see the word continues to multiply.

A church on its knees is not a church in defeat, it's a church trusting in the Lord's victory.

Let me add this to the screen here.

When godless opposition brings the church to its knees, the word of God multiplies.

And how has God done this?

Well, consider what God has done in this rescue, and I would suggest he's done so much more than simply rescue Peter.

Because God has put a demonstration on here, hasn't he?

A demonstration of what's really going on when his servants are imprisoned.

You remember what Herod did to James.

Well, James was beheaded, wasn't he?

Was Peter a victory and James a defeat?

Well, no.

And why is that?

It's because God shows here that he is able to rescue.

If he wanted to, he could.

Sometimes it's hard for us to imagine, isn't it?

But God has a good purpose in the martyr of his servants, just as he has a good purpose when he chooses to rescue them.

Whether it's through their death or through their life, the Lord multiplies his word.

And God is the same God today.

What he did here, he did for us too.

So we would know that there is no opposition we face that God cannot rescue from.

If he wanted to, he could.

Now there was a recent report on uh Christians in China.

I wonder if you might have seen it.

How efforts have been stepped up recently by the authorities to clamp down, especially on the underground churches.

And a number of church leaders have been arrested recently.

These believers, they have a wonderful witness.

There was one pastor, and he was taken away and imprisoned last uh October.

His wife hasn't seen or spoken to him since.

And she said, actually, this wasn't a surprise.

They knew this could happen at any moment.

And yet it didn't stop them preaching the word.

It didn't stop them serving their church.

They counted it worth it, ready to be imprisoned for the word.

And while that's an awful thing, as the church brings this before the Lord, they can be encouraged, can't they?

God is more powerful than prideful leaders.

As with Peter, he's able to rescue.

If he wanted to, he could.

And so believers can have confidence that those leaders of the church, they're in prison actually by the will of God.

Their arrest will not stop God's word from multiplying.

That's incredible.

This reported estimated there are over 115 million Christians across China.

Can you imagine that number?

115 million.

You know, that's about double the population of England.

Incredible.

When godless opposition brings the church to its knees, the word of God multiplies.

But our passage has more to add to this thought.

The next one here, let me put it up, is proud hearts are humbled.

Proud hearts are humbled.

The outcome for Peter here was rescue, wasn't it?

Let's see again the output, the outcome for Herod.

There's a bit of an episode going on with the people of Tyre and Sidon.

These are two cities that were up on the coast, a little way north of Judea.

And their strength and expertise was in being maritime city-states.

They thrived on trade.

And so they were dependent, as we're told, on Herod for food.

And so it was bad news to have Herod angry with them.

They had to make peace.

And this was the occasion for another incredible scene in this chapter, isn't it?

Herod goes over to meet them and he kind of makes a great show of royalty in his majestic robes.

He makes a powerful speech, a big demonstration of authority and greatness.

And the people respond, don't they?

And they feed his pride, honoring him, saying, This is the voice of a God, not of a man.

But Herod, he accepts this praise.

And we have God's judgment, don't we, in verse 23.

Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory.

And he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

He did not give God the glory.

Now, there's a little bit of a puzzle here with this business of being eaten by worms.

It's a little bit strange, isn't it?

There's perhaps a couple of things that could mean.

Now I think him kind of falling into, I don't know, a group of worms and being eaten is probably not very likely.

And the other possibility as well, they're also a little bit gruesome.

Could he have been struck with a disease?

Perhaps something of the intestines or bowels that involved worms of This is actually quite interesting.

The historian Josephus writes about this same occasion, and his account is remarkably similar.

He writes of the majestic robes, the speech, the honoring of Herod as divine, all these things, even about being struck down.

And he writes he had a severe pain that arose in his belly and ended up causing his death.

Well, we don't have every detail we might want here, perhaps.

But what is clear from what Luke records, this was a divine judgment, wasn't it?

It's God acting directly, sending his angel to strike down Herod.

So how does God regard prideful power?

How does he respond to those who set themselves up, make themselves great in their own eyes?

And perhaps they do have some real earthly authority, sometimes able to change the fortunes of believers, even take their lives.

How does God regard such people?

Well, one of the answers the Bible gives us, we find in the Psalms again, Psalm 2.

I know again, some of the children have been looking at this one recently.

What does Psalm 2 say?

He who sits in the heavens laughs.

The Lord holds them in derision.

It says there, he will terrify them, and he will say, I have set up my king in Zion on my holy hill.

He speaks of his son, his anointed to the Lord Jesus.

This is God's plan for all prideful power.

It's for it to be humbled at the feet of King Jesus.

And for some they may face that sooner.

And Herod did so, didn't he?

It was God's will to feed him to the worms.

For others, it may be later.

But for all the prideful and godless leaders we see in our world today, they may not be humbled yet, but sooner or later, every one of them will be.

And what does Acts 12 show us about that?

Well, God's got all those leaders in his hand.

The only power they have is actually his.

Is that strange?

Well, I don't think this should be a surprise to us.

And God has in fact explained this in his word, and perhaps there's a few places we could go here, but one that's particularly helpful, I'll put it on the screen.

It's in 1 Corinthians 1.

I'll just read a couple of verses there for us.

There it is.

1 Corinthians 1 from verse 27.

And it says this God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.

God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are.

And why?

So that no one may boast before him.

When as a church we're on our knees, depending on the Lord, all the glory goes to him.

God's name is glorified.

And of course, as the church, as we walk in humility and weakness, actually, we're walking in the greatest footsteps of all, aren't we?

We're following the Lord Jesus, the one who made himself nothing.

Going in weakness, in humility, in apparent defeat.

He even became a curse on the cross and he died.

And so that through his death, God could accomplish his greatest rescue of all.

Bringing repentant sinners to himself.

This is how God in his perfect wisdom has chosen to work in his church.

What does that mean for us?

What are we to expect in our lives today, then?

Well, we shouldn't be surprised as Christians, should we?

If there are times that we find ourselves feeling weak, small, and needing help.

Just got two short examples that I think are topical for us in the coming months.

I know some of you young folk are going to new schools in September, aren't you?

Others perhaps going into new year groups or new classes.

Well, are you ready for people to know that you're a Christian?

Are you going to take a stand and let people know you follow Jesus?

What can we expect there?

And sometimes we'll feel small.

Sometimes we may feel weak.

But where are we really?

We cling to a great God who takes what is weak and he shows his power.

He's the one who is with us.

And that's how he glorifies his name.

And so pray to him.

This summer, pray to your Father in heaven that as we are weak, we need him because he is strong.

One more, how about for us as a church?

Soon, Lord willing, we'll have a new building.

Will that give us a more visible witness in Brentwood?

And will that perhaps come with greater opposition to the gospel?

Who can say?

The future is with the Lord, isn't it?

But whatever challenges or opposition may come along, perhaps they would be no bad thing if they're bringing us more to our knees before the Lord.

Recognizing we are weak.

We need Him who is strong.

I wonder what it will take to bring the church to its knees today.

We have a great example in the early church, don't we?

How they react to being under pressure.

What about us?

How do we react to being under pressure?

Let's pray that we would be a church on its knees.

And so we can see God's word multiplied, proud hearts humbled, and God's name glorified.

Let's pray to him, shall we?

Our Father God, we praise you for how we can look back and see the amazing ways you've worked through your church in history.

How in your wisdom, whether the church has appeared to be in victory or defeat, you are the one who's in control.

And Father, we pray that you would teach us to be more and more on our knees before you, trusting your will for us as your church.

And in doing so, we pray your great name would be glorified.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.