PRAYER OVER PANIC - Acts 12:1-5

If you have your Bible or an app, let's

open it up. We're going to be in the

book of Acts this morning. Acts 12. I

believe we are in week 38 of a series we

began last year where we are looking at

how God moved and how God worked through

the early church after the day of

Pentecost. And the reason we are taking

uh several months and several weeks to

look at the story of Acts because Acts

is our story. Their history is our

history. Their mission is our mission.

And I'm reminded of this every single

week that there is no official

conclusion to the book of Acts. And

Luke, who is the author of this book,

did that purposefully so that we would

understand that the work God began and

what the spirit began to cultivate in

the early church then, God continues to

work. And the spirit continues to

cultivate today. And he does it through

you. and he does it through me. We have

the incredible honor and the amazing

privilege to be a part of what God is

doing throughout his creation as he

works towards rescue, redemption, and

restoration. And God is calling a people

who will live obediently to all that he

has commanded in our lives. This is the

story of Acts. And Acts continues to be

our story as well. So, we're going to be

in verses 1-5 right here in Acts 12. Let

me kind of give you a setup and some

context so you know that where we are

going. We have just finished reading

about an outpouring of the Holy Spirit

upon the gentile people. We've also

learned that in the city of Antioch,

which is several hundred miles north of

Jerusalem, God is doing an amazing work.

The church is growing. People are being

discipled. It is evident that the Holy

Spirit is moving and working through a

people who are committed to the mission

of the gospel. And then we come to Acts

Acts 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12. And what we find that is

really thematic and prevalent all

throughout the scriptures is that when

the church continues to thrive, when the

church continues to reach unknown

regions and unknown people, there is

always opposition and persecution that

is set against the mission of God and

the people of God. As a matter of fact,

we come to a time period right here in

Acts 12 where the Christians in

Jerusalem are facing deep persecution

and

opposition, death at the hands of Herod

Agrippa, arrests, trials, and all of

this done not because Herod desires any

sort of of fame, but because he is

thriving in the persecution that he's

bringing to believers because it pleases

the

Jews. Matter of fact, Acts chapter 12

Acts 12 · chapter mention

shows us three scenes. We're going to

look at scene one this morning. And

we're going to look that when the church

endures a difficult season, what they do

is they don't run from it and panic.

They don't run from it confused, but

rather they step into what God is doing.

and they do it through

prayer. I was reminded this past week of

a book called The Hiding Place written

by Corey Tinboom. Many of you have read

her work before. And and and there in

chapter 13, she writes about a moment in

this conversation that she has with her

sister. They're at a concentration camp

when she's recounting this memory. and

they've endured suffering and

persecution at the hands of Nazi

generals and soldiers. And she shares

this in that book. She says, "There is

no pit so deep that God's love is not

deeper still." Many of you have heard

that quote before. And as I began to

reflect on that, I began to think, how

can someone in a moment of deep despair,

pain, and suffering immediately turn and

gauge their focus on the Lord. That only

happens when a heart understands that

God is moving and God is working. that

despite opposition, despite the

persecution that comes our way, that

comes uh to the church across the world,

what we find is that when a heart is set

on Jesus, when a heart is set on his

mission, that come what may, God still

gets the glory. And no matter what we

endure, our faith is never shaken. So,

what I want to talk about today is how

do we become a people that turn to

prayer over panic?

How do we become a people who look to

what is happening in our midst is

happening in the world around us within

the church, outside of the church,

within culture and society and

immediately our first step is towards

prayer and not panic. I believe Acts

Acts 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12 shows us a scene on how we

can adopt such an attitude. So if you

have your Bibles, we'll begin in verse

one. We'll read through verse 5. It'll

be up on the screen as well. Here is

what Dr. Luke writes.

About that

time, Herod the king laid violent hands

on some who belonged to the church.

Herod is striking

Christians. He is targeting them. Verse

two says, "He killed James, the brother

of John, with the sword." Luke isn't

mincing words here. And if we're not

careful, we can miss the horrendous

nature of this persecution that is set

against the early church in Acts chap

12. But what Luke is doing and the words

that he is using, the laying of hands on

those who belong to the church and the

killing of James who was a disciple of

Jesus, mind you, the killing of James

with the sword is to communicate to us,

especially this far removed, that this

was evil. That what was taking place

against the church was horrendous and

despicable. Blood was being shed at the

hands of Herod so that the gospel would

be silenced and the mission of God would

seize. Verse three is the key

here. And when he saw that it pleased

the

Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.

This was during the days of unleavened

bread. I think Luke is is also drawing

our attention to something something

incredible here. When did Jesus give his

life? Was during the days of unleven

bread. It was during the

Passover. And here we have the

persecution of the church. The

opposition against the work of God

taking place on a sacred holiday. A

holiday that we we'll come to clarify

here in just a moment as we participate

in the Lord's supper that points to

Jesus, the true lamb of God who comes to

take away the sins of the world. But I'm

getting ahead of myself, but but I don't

want us to miss this. Where Herod

attempted to silence the work of God and

the hands and the feet and the movement

of his church, what we find is that it

only embolded them to thrive all the

more. And so a challenging question for

us is what do we do when we face moments

that are difficult for

us even this far removed from what is

happening in Acts 12. Did you know

Christians around the world still face

this sort of persecution?

There was news not too long ago of a

coup that happened in Syria and they

started going doortodoor pulling

Christians out from their homes and

beheading them in the middle of the

streets taking them to the city square

and executing them to silence the work

of God. This is a horrendous moment in

the life of the church. Verse four. 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. Verse 5. So Peter

was kept in prison,

but earnest prayer for him was made to

God by the church. And all God's people

said, "Amen." Lord, would you bless your

word? Holy Spirit, would you stir our

hearts this morning?

So, a couple of things I want us to

recognize as we dive into this passage.

First, and you may have picked up on

this, Luke shares these five verses and

all that is taking place in terms of

opposition and persecution to the church

sandwiched between

what? The identity of the church, the

life of the church, and the prayer

movement of the church. Did you pick up

on that in verse one and in verse 5? All

that takes place is sandwiched between a

mention of the church. Here's here's

what Luke is telling us that in between

pain, in between persecution, in between

opposition, the church continues to

thrive. And what do we see is one of the

main methods that allows the church to

thrive in the midst of such evil actions

and culture? We see that it's all

anchored in prayer. And when you get

down to the root of prayer, prayer is

anchored in trust. It's anchored in

faith. It's anchored in hope. So one of

the questions that we need to ask

ourselves is where is my faith? Where is

my hope? Where is my trust? And it's

very easy for those things to waver.

It's very easy to put our faith, hope,

and trust in everything and anything.

But when a faith, hope, and trust is

anchored in the Lord, that is evident in

a prayer life, that is evident in a

corporate gathering, that is evident in

the disciplines that we apply and adapt

to our daily lives. We can be a people

that when opposition comes, we don't run

in panic, but we run straight into the

arms of Jesus, trusting that all things

work for the glory of his name and the

good of his people. Now, let me just

kind of clarify this for just a moment.

When we talk about all things working

for the glory of God and the good of his

people, that does not mean that life is

easy, that life is perfect, or that God

is the cause of the pain in your life.

But in God's sovereign reign and

sovereign rule, in his knowledge and his

power and the fact that he knows and has

positioned you for the path that is in

front of you, God will use even the most

horrendous and painful of moments to

sanctify you and bring about his good

purpose. Paul really outlines this

rather well to the church in Rome when

he talks about what it means to be a

living and breathing sacrifice before

the Lord. And in order to do that, it

all goes back to what? To trust, to

faith, to hope. Where are we being

anchored? And Paul will say it this way

in Romans chapter 12 that we are to be

Romans 12 · chapter mention

transformed by the renewing of our what?

Of our mind. Cuz did you know this? What

enters the mind, if we're not careful,

will get filtered into the

heart. And out of the heart, guess what?

The mouth speaks. The hand moves. The

feet walk. What are we anchored in?

Where are we placing our hope and our

trust? So, so here's what I want to do

with our remaining time. I want to look

at three truths that we can draw from

from our passage. three truths that the

early church

recognized, that they acknowledged, that

they lived by so that when difficult

times came into their life. And and let

me just say this, difficult times will

come into our lives, they were able to

turn immediately to the Lord as a first

response rather than a last resort. And

I believe as we go back into our

passage, these are truths that we can

recognize as well so that we can all be

in the best position to look to the Lord

when times are difficult. If you're

taking notes, here's the first one. When

evil seems to be winning, don't lose

heart.

How many of us have ever been a in a

prolonged season where it just seems

that one issue led to another led to

another led to another and what seemed

to be something temporary turned out to

be something months or maybe years long.

And that comes in different shapes and

forms for for some of

us. It's just the nature of a fallen

world. and not to devalue or to take

away from the reality of what you may be

facing. Sometimes it's just a hand that

we've been

dealt. And here's the important thing to

recognize with the hand that you've been

dealt.

Time and time again when you look

throughout the scriptures, what we find

is that people who endured pain, people

who endured suffering, and the church is

enduring

this, one of their greatest leaders has

just been murdered at the hands of a

psychotic

king. Another one of their great leaders

has just been imprisoned and they are

waiting for him to be murdered at the

hands of this psychotic

king. And not to devalue what we go

through, but but what we find again

throughout the scriptures is that when

people endure suffering, it's because

God is showering them with greater

grace. I know many of your stories and

I've heard your personal testimonies of

pain and hardship, the type of pain and

hardship that you would not wish on your

worst enemy. And I've also heard the

story of God's glory being on display

through it. on how when you press into

the Lord and when you seek him and

anchor your heart and your hope in him

that that is where you discover a taste

and see moment where you discover a

sweetness and a flavor in your walk with

Jesus that if not for trial pain and

suffering you would miss out on. And I

think if we all take some inventory in

our life and we all have a spiritual gut

check and look to moments, we can see

where God will use those dire situations

to draw us closer to

him. You know this just as well as I do,

and I really want to be clear with this.

Following Jesus is not easy. Sure, we

are blessed in Western culture,

particularly in America, with rights and

privileges that are not afforded to

Christians and other parts of the world.

Praise God for that. We don't devalue

that. We don't take away from that. We

don't neglect that. We step into that

and we praise God for his goodness and

his mercy. But even in the midst of that

and in the fallen world that we live in,

we still face hardships. And oftent

times it can be very difficult to be a

Christian. Case in point, some of you

all this past week, it was very

difficult to hold your tongue. It was

very difficult not to think the thoughts

that you were thinking. It was very

difficult not to lash out in anger. Some

of us this morning were holding on to

bitterness. We're holding on to

unforgiveness. We're still clinging to

that sinful addiction because we think

there's greater joy in that than a

relationship with Jesus. It is hard

being a Christian. It is difficult. But

here's the

key. When the world seems to be winning,

we do not lose hope. Paul said it this

way in his letter to the Thessalonians.

He said, "I do not want you to be

ignorant, brothers and sisters, of those

who have passed before us." He uses the

word fallen

asleep. There were some in the church

who thought that death was the end and

that was it. Even if you profess faith

in Jesus, even if you were used in

gospel work and kingdom advancement,

that death was the end. And Paul reminds

them that there is hope beyond the grave

for the believer, for the one that

trusts in Jesus. The world may seem like

it's winning, but don't lose heart. Go

back with me to verse

one. About that time, Herod the king

laid violent hands on some who belong 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. Herod, his moral compass, it

wasn't

scripture. It was to please

people. If the majority of people liked

it, if they approved of it, then he

embraced it and stepped into it

wholeheartedly. Here's the reality. That

wasn't just a Herod thing. That's a

common thing today. Unfortunately, it's

a common thing that is infiltrated into

the church today. Do you know there are

Christians around the world, there are

churches around the world that don't

stand on moral

clarity. They lack spine. They lack

backbone when it comes to standing on

the truth of God's word.

And those are people that have lost

hearts. Those are people that look at

the world and they say, "They're

winning. We might as well join the

winning team." But it's a lack of

understanding because if you know the

truth of God's word, the ending has

already been declared. The victory has

already been established. And guess

what? The victory is Christ's. The

victory is for his people. We've said it

this way so often. We don't fight for a

victory. We fight from the platform of

victory. Jesus has already taken the

gold.

He has established it and he has

established it forever and

ever. And so we need to be a people as

we not lose heart despite what's

happening in the world around us that we

press against the flesh that desires to

be

self-focused because really it's all a

powerless

imitation. It's not the real thing.

Christianity will cost

you. Which is why Paul says in Galatians

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2 20, I have been crucified with

Christ. It is no longer I who live but

Christ who lives in me. And the life

that I live now, I live by faith in the

son of God who loved me and gave his

life for me. That word been, pastor uh

pastor Eric talked about it last week.

It's perfect

tense meaning it includes both past,

present and future. It's ongoing. We are

constantly being crucified with Christ.

What does that mean? That means you wake

up in the morning and you tell the

flesh. The flesh is not in

charge. You tell the flesh that you are

the one filled with the spirit, filled

with his power, filled with his might.

You are the one that dictates your day.

Not your flesh. It's the spirit of God

in you. This is what Christianity costs

and it's cost the son his life. Luke

Luke 9:62

9:62, "No one who puts his hand to the

plow and looks back is fit for the

kingdom of

God." You know, Herod

attempted to triumph with the

sword. He attempted to use it as a tool

to silence the church. Sure, he murdered

James. He imprisoned Peter. But it did

not stop the

gospel. All he did was sharpen the

church's focus. And here's here's my

challenge to you. When the world seems

to win, don't lose heart. Here's my

challenge to you. When you step into

opposition, when you step into pain,

when you step into hardship, when you

step into those seasons where it feels

like your heart and soul is being ripped

from you, I want to challenge you with

this. I'm not saying it's easy. I know

it's difficult, but I want to challenge

you with this because it is still

possible with the power of the Holy

Spirit to use it not as an opportunity

to flee from the Lord, but to press in

and to sharpen your faith in him.

Because a Christian with a sharpened

faith is the enemy's worst

nightmare. We step into the power that

rests in the Lord. So when evil seems to

be winning, don't lose heart. Here's the

second thing. When the church has no

power, it still has

prayer. Many of us know this by heart.

At this moment in history, Herod had the

power. Herod had

soldiers. There was a ton of them that

surrounded Peter. Herod had the chains.

He had the keys to the cell. It would

seem that he is winning. But what did

the church have? It's right here in

verse

5. So Peter was kept in prison. No, not

notice the phrasing here. Again, Luke

doesn't mince words, right? And and

every word in scripture is meant to draw

us deeper into God's plan for our life.

So, so Peter, if you picked up on this,

he's painting this contrast, right? We

see it at the end of Acts 12, the church

is thriving. And about this time, he

picks up in chapter uh chapter 12, about

this time, persecution is happening. So,

while the church thrives, persecution

comes alongside it. uh opposition comes

alongside it. But does it silence the

church? No. I I think uh Acts 12:5 is a

Acts 12:5

clear indicator of that. Because while

Peter was kept in prison, while he was

chained in prison, while he was being

guarded in prison, while he was being

watched over in prison, all for the

purpose of what? Keeping him where he

is. So that there's no overflow. There's

no breaking out. There's no moving

forward. While Herod attempted to keep

him in prison, what's happening to the

church? They're moving forward. They're

seeking the Lord in earnest prayer. And

here's what I love about that word

earnest prayer. It's rooted in the Greek

word

ectenos. It's where we would later get

the word extend from. What this means is

is this isn't just random prayer.

The church is not just gathering and and

praying for

Peter's safekeeping prior to dinner. No,

no. This is a word that indicates

ferveny. A word that indicates it that

we are extending our soul that that we

are broken over this. That everything

about us is extending away from self,

away from the flesh, and into the power

and presence of God. That's what this

word indicates. Here's what's

interesting. This is the same word for

prayer that is used to describe how

Jesus was praying in the garden of

Gethsemane before his arrest. And what

do we read there? That Jesus was so

drawn to the

father that that he was so extending

himself in prayer. The scripture says

that his sweat became like drops of

blood. It's an actual medical

condition. It's where you can extend

yourself so much that the capillaries in

your head burst and blood starts to drip

from your pores. This is this is the

type of prayer that Luke is describing.

A stretched out continuous prayer. This

isn't a prayer that's ritualistic. It's

a prayer for rescue. Here's here's what

the church was saying. Here's what the

church was

indicating. Herod may have the power. He

may have the politics. He may have the

plan. He may have everything that is set

against us. But what do we have? We have

access to the throne of God. Church,

don't ever forget

that. Culture may look one way. Society

may look one way. Your bank account

might say something. Your health might

say something. What you're going through

might say something. The culture around

you might say something. But what do you

have? You have access to the throne of

God. That's what we

have. And oftentimes we take it

lightly. This is really a play on words.

When the church has no power, it so has

prayer. But in reality, the church has

all the power. Do you know why? Because

God is with us.

So when the avalanche of

suffering hits you and it hits your soul

and it hits your heart, how do you

respond? Do you

fold? Do you

panic? Do you become a keyboard warrior

and post and complain about

it? Or do you

pursue? is your posture a posture of

prayer before the Lord. Now I I'm I'm

speaking out of conviction

here. One of the

dangers of being a Christian in Western

civilization because of the honors and

the privileges that we have, the rights

that we have, and again, praise God for

all of that, it is very easy for us to

become idol in our

faith. It's why Jesus says it it's it's

more difficult uh for for a rich man to

enter into the kingdom than it is for a

camel to go through the eye of a needle.

What picture was Jesus painting here? He

was Jesus was was not saying anything

against wealth other than if if the

things in your life draw your focus away

from the Lord, draw your heart and its

motives and its intentions away from his

kingdom work, then what you have done is

you have positioned yourself to not

experience God's best in his kingdom.

You have positioned your heart far away

from him. And if you're not careful,

because many times it's the sin in our

life if there is no active repentance

because active repentance leads to what?

Don't miss this. Active repentance leads

to active

[Music]

obedience. I I I I know I stand on this

so often, but it it's it's worth

reminding us. Faith and

obedience are not separated.

Faith and obedience in the scripture are

united. They go hand in hand. And to say

you had faith in Jesus meant that you

were being obedient to Jesus. To say

that you were actively repent. And we're

all actively repenting. We don't repent

once because we all

sin. None of us are immune to sin in our

lives. We I I've always said it this

way. We'll never be sinless this side of

heaven.

But we through active repentance and

therefore active obedience, though we'll

never be sinless, we can sin less. Are

you tracking with that? The more we

pursue the Lord, the less we're pursuing

the world. And this is exactly what

repentance is. Repentance is not just

turning away from sin, but it's

simultaneously turning away from sin and

turning towards Jesus. So my heart's no

longer devoted to the things of this

world. It's now devoted to the kingdom

of God, his plan, his purpose, and his

power at

work. So, the church

has prayer. That is where power rests.

It rests in the posture that we take

before the Lord. Here's here's the last

one. Earthly thrones do not threaten

heaven's rule. This is what we need to

understand. Earthly thrones don't

threaten heaven's rule. Now, now I'm

going to go here and I want you guys

just to listen, right? Stay with

me. This has never been more evident

than when we enter into election

seasons. We put so much energy in the

governments and in the politics and in

and and in the laws. And again, nothing

wrong with that. Nothing wrong with

that. as as as good citizens of this

country, of this community, I believe

part of our duty to move about in God's

kingdom, for the advancement of of

righteousness, not ours, but but his, is

to actively be involved in those things

for the motivation of God's kingdom, not

the motivation of preferences. And so

often we think when when elections don't

go our way, when judgments don't go our

way, then we feel that God's kingdom is

threatened. But earthly thrones don't

threaten heaven's rule. Let's go to

verse

four. 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. This can get lost

on us, but this is a big deal right

here. What this pi picture Luke is

painting, Herod has gone to great

lengths to ensure that Peter is going to

die. He's already killed James. And so

what does Herod do? He puts him in

prison and he delivers him over to not

one but four squads of

soldiers to guard him. Here's what Herod

is doing. Herod is planning a spectacle.

He's going to march Peter into the city

square once Passover is done and he is

going to murder him. Why? Because it's

pleased the Jews. What have we

discovered so far about this distinction

between these religious laced Jewish

individuals that look to preference and

tradition more than they do the truth of

God's word. Right? this dichotomy, this

this this division that has taken place

here is now Jew versus Gentile and even

even the Jews who who approved of of the

Gentiles, the traditional Jews don't

approve of those

Jews. And so Herod is trying to please

them. So he plans this spectacle. He he

wants to wait for the Passover to finish

to please these religious leaders. But I

think Herod forgets something

here. He forgets that his power is

temporary. That his throne is

borrowed. That the sword, though in

earthly eyes may seem powerful, there is

a sword that's more

powerful, the word of God. And this is

the sword that we fight with. This is

the sword that the scripture tells us at

the end of days Jesus comes forth and

enacts judgment with this

sword. So worldly powers, earthly

dominions, kingdoms, governments,

nations have nothing when it's against

the truth of God's word and his plan and

his purpose for your life. How do we

become a people who will pray rather

than panic? How do we become a people

who step into purpose and plan and

power? We anchor our hope in the truth

of God's word. I've said it this way

before. You can't know the God of the

word if you don't know the word of

God. Matter of fact, many of you know

this. We've committed this year, 2025,

to be the year that we read the Bible

more. It always blesses my heart when I

open up my Bible app every morning to

read our daily reading for our

churchwide Bible plan. I open it up and

it shows that right now we have over 45

people who have signed up to be a part

of that Bible plan. And if you are

looking for a way just to be reminded

daily to step into the truth of God's

word, to live it out, to apply your life

to it, would you consider we have the QR

code right there on our

bulletin. Would you consider joining us

and reading the Bible more in

2025? We're we're almost halfway there.

And if you've not started, that's okay.

Start right where we are. Scan that QR

code. Set the reminder on your phone.

five minutes or less, you can begin to

fill your heart with God's word daily.

But earthly thrones absolutely do not

threaten heaven's rule. Herod thought he

had the upper hand, but his power is

limited. His rule is temporary. And I

want us to remember this. He may be king

at the moment, but he's never Lord.

And whatever takes place in our life may

seem like it's being the king of our

life, but listen, it'll never be Lord of

our life because there's only one Lord.

There's only one maker of heaven and

earth. It's God the Father, God the Son,

and God the Holy Spirit. And he's

calling you to step into a relationship

with him to anchor your heart in

him. So what do we do when suffering

hits home?

What do we do when James is

executed? When Peter is imprisoned and

when the so-called king seems to be

winning, let me contextualize it. What

do we do when marriage is

difficult? What do we do when our child

continues in rebellion? What What do we

do

when when the doctor gave us the news we

didn't hope for? or when bad

news hits us right between the eyes, a

text message, a phone call, an email,

when we lose someone we love. What do we

do in those moments? Church, I want to

remind us of this. We do what the early

church did. We stand firm and we anchor

our hope in Jesus. And and I want us to

be a church. I pray, this is my prayer

for us. I want us to be a church that

falls to our knees and calls upon the

name of Jesus to fill us, to direct us,

and to guide us. And let me just clarify

this. Though this is in the context of a

difficult moment in the life of the

church, and though I'm speaking into the

context of a difficult moment in our

lives as well, we don't just turn to

Christ in difficult moments.

Mountaintop or valley, good times or bad

times, in the fire or in the breeze, we

turn to the Lord and we anchor our

hearts in him. We pray and we seek and

we cling

to. Let's never trade conviction for

applause or purpose for panic. But let

us be a people that press in. Let us be

a people that pray because church, God's

moving. God's working. And God is

calling you. He's calling us. But I want

to specify this. God is calling you to

join him. He's whispering, "Roland, come

join

me." He's whispering your name. Crystal,

come join me. John, come join me. Lacy,

come join me. Stuart, come join me. He's

whispering your name and he's calling

you to join him no matter where you are.

And I pray today maybe for some would be

the day of salvation for you. Let's

pray. Lord, I pray that you'd continue

to work and move in and through this

place.

Lord, we thank you for reminders like

Acts chapter

Acts 12 · chapter mention

12 that though the church endures pain

and suffering, though your children

endure pain and suffering, pain and

suffering does not have the last

word. Lord, I pray that you would

continue to have your hand upon our time

this

morning as we seek you. And here in just

a moment as we

celebrate what it meant for us, for the

world, for

creation to have your body broken and

your blood shed for us. In Jesus name we

pray. God's people said, "Amen.