ACTS: God is On Our Side

 

Peter is back in Jerusalem and finds himself in an unexpected situation because of the desire of Herod to please the Jewish leadership.

 

 

Acts 12:1 Herod the king arrested some of the followers in an attempt to disrupt the movement. 2 John's brother James was killed with a sword. 3 Once he found out this treatment of the followers pleased the Jewish leadership, he found Peter and arrested him as well. Since it was during the holiday of Unleavened Bread, 4 he put Peter into prison, guarded by four squads of soldiers. Herod planned to publicly deal with Peter after the Passover ended. 5 The followers gathered for prayer and ask God with great intensity to deliver Peter.

 

One of the questions we might want to ask at this point, knowing that Peter will soon be released from prison in a very miraculous way, is what kind of prayer caused God to release Peter? We have all had experiences where we can see that God answers prayer and at the same time, we have to be aware that He does not always answer our prayer in the way we would like. One thing I constantly have to remind myself; prayer is not my way to manipulate God, but a chance to spend time with Him so that He understands my heart and more importantly, I understand His. Prayer, in many respects, is a way for us to ask God to do what He feels is the best thing to do at this time in our lives.

 

That being said, the church has gathered to pray for Peter and others that have been caught up in Herod’s scheme of pleasing the religious leadership of Jerusalem. The words that have been used to translate the kind of prayer the church offers up include, fervent, eager, earnest, constant, persevering, and expectant. These describe a prayer that is heartfelt, full of feeling, enthusiastic, intense, disciplines, expecting God can do the impossible, and trusting in God’s goodness.  

 

Sometimes I run through my prayer requests as if I am telling someone a list of things that I think I might need from the grocery store, a packet of seasoning, some meat and broccoli, and some rice. It does not necessarily describe how much I am looking forward to having beef and broccoli stir fry for dinner. It does not communicate the longing I have for the meal to become a reality so I can savor the taste. Prayer is often like that. We are letting God know what we might like to have Him do for us.

 

The church that gathered in this moment was still grieving over the loss of James and well knew what the outcome for Peter would be if God did not intervene in some miraculous way. They might not have expected what God would do, but they were letting Him know that they trusted He would do the right thing and the best thing.  

 

Will God do more for us because we pray deeply than if we just flippantly throw up our requests to Him? I do not know that I could answer that in a confident way. I do know that I take my kids more seriously when they come to me with a serious question than if they just throw out an idea in passing expecting me to fully understand the depth of their pain or the amount of time they might have been struggling with an issue.  

 

 

Acts 12:6 The night before Herod planned to put him on public trial, Peter lay asleep in the prison, bound with chains, with a guard on either side of him. Other guards watched intently at the doors of the prison. 7 Suddenly light appeared in the cell and an angel of the Lord showed up; he woke Peter from his sleep and told him, "We need to go quickly." Peter's chains fell off without the keys and the guards did not stir. 8 The angel told Peter to get up, get dressed, put on his shoes and his coat. Then he said, "Follow me." 9 As Peter followed behind the angel, he thought it all was a dream or a vision, he did not know it was real. 10 They passed two more squads of guards on their way to the iron gate that led into the city. The gates opened before them with no assistance from the angel or Peter.  As soon as they were out in the streets, the angel left Peter. 11 That is when Peter realized, "the Lord has sent an angel to rescue me from Herod and the expectations of the Jewish people."

 

If we try to get inside of Peter’s head for a moment, what could he possibly be thinking? When James was killed, everyone in the church realized that they could be next, that the persecution was more than just words shared in disagreement by their neighbors. When Peter was arrested, I am sure it crossed his mind that he might be next. Was he resolved to give his life for the service of the Lord if this might in some way bring others to faith? Was he anxiously awaiting the dawn and what the new day had to offer? He was asleep when the angel came. Was he at peace or so exhausted he could do nothing but sleep?

 

And then the angel shows up and hustles him out of the prison in a way that was so unexpected that he was not sure if he was dreaming or actually walking out of the doors of the prison and into the streets of the city. But one thing was sure, when he felt the cool morning breeze on his face, he knew God had delivered him from the hand of Herod, at least for now.

 

Acts 12:12 With this new situation he went straight to the house of John Mark's mother, Mary. He knew that people from the followers would be there praying. 13 The servant girl, Rhoda, answered his knock on the door. 14 She knew it was Peter by his voice and she forgot to open the door but went inside to announce that Peter was at the door. 15 The people did not believe her, "It can't be." But she insisted it was so. Others said, "It might be his angel or a vision." 16 Peter kept knocking on the door. When they finally opened the door, to their amazement stood Peter. 17 He signaled to them to quiet down and then explained to them how the angel of the Lord came to set him free from the prison. He said, "Tell James and the others about this." And Peter went somewhere else. 18 In the morning the soldiers were confused and could not find out where Peter had gone. 19 Herod sent out a search party, did not find Peter, examined the guards, and then sent them off to be killed. Peter went to spend some time in Caesarea.

 

Being aware that he could be found easily in the city, he decided it would be best for him to go back to Caesarea for a while. It is important for us to realize that God does not always want us to stay where we can be persecuted or abused or mistreated. We have the freedom to leave a difficult situation and find a place of peace and rest. God never begrudges us that opportunity. However, there are times in life that walking away from the situation is not the best way to handle our circumstances, sometimes God desires us to face our foes head on.

 

Acts 12:20 Herod was also having trouble with the people of Tyre and Sidon. These people gained an audience with him through the influence of his servant, Blastus. They wanted peace with Herod because they received their sustenance from him. 21 Herod set a date, put on his royal garments, sat on his public throne, and began to address the people. 22 The people acclaimed him as a god not a man. 23 In the middle of this, God sent an angel to strike Herod because he did not give the honor to God. He was eaten by worms and died.

 

We do not have enough of the details to make a firm conclusion as to exactly what Herod did so wrong that God would strike him dead. Some might think that his evil life just caught up with him and he had a stroke and keeled over. But it would be fair to say that pride can get the best of us and never fits into the ways of God. He is asking all of us to come humbly before Him. Will we die instantly if we are proud? No. Usually not. But we know that the anxiety that comes with pride and our need to them protect all of our personal “domain,’ will take its toll on our physical and emotional well-being. In time it will do us in.

 

Acts 12:24 The word of the Lord continued to spread throughout the region and more people became followers of Jesus. 25 Barnabas and Saul delivered the gifts from Antioch and returned back taking John Mark along with them.

 

Some things for us to consider:

 

1.    God seems slow at times to intervene in our circumstances and bring us the relief we are seeking. Does He believe that the circumstances and the lessons we learn can benefit us now and/or in the future?

2.    Faith grows in times of tension and stress more than in times of calm and complacency. The church in communist China during the black out period of the mid-20^th century was some of the greatest increase in numbers and faith in the history of the church. The outside missionaries could not communicate with their disciples within the country, but through the faithfulness of some of the disciples and the power of the Holy Spirit, millions came to know Jesus Christ during the period of persecution.

3.    There is a timing beyond my understanding. When I go through difficult circumstances, I think more deeply. I focus on God more intently. The urgency that I feel does not seem to be what God is feeling. He sees my situation from a different perspective. I am aware of my mounting bills and He is moving the course of history towards the culmination of Jesus coming in glory. My agenda is on the here and now and His consumes so much more.

4.    When God acts beyond our expectation, we catch a glimpse of the creativity of our God and begin to have a wider expectation of what He can and even wants to do in and through our lives. God acts independent of our way of thinking, yet He always keeps our best in mind.

5.    When God is perplexing, it calls me to ask why? It teaches me discipline to learn His ways and understand Him more. When He is patient, it calls me to wait, it teaches me to endure. When God is creative, it calls me to expect anything, it teaches me to never give up hope, to always know there is a way out of every situation, and to believe the impossible and unimaginable.

 

God has proven Himself to be trustworthy in every situation of my life. He has never left me nor forsaken me. He is with me every step of the way and He, in Jesus, has direct life experience so that He knows exactly what I am going through and what I need the most. He is faithful. I can trust Him.

 

May you be blessed in the name of Jesus with faith, confidence, and assurance that He loves you and is always on your side.

Pastor Edd