Sermon: Sunday, 16th March, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Acts 12:1-19
We are part of the Free Church of Scotland. Our denomination’s vision statement is: ‘A healthy gospel church for every community in Scotland’. That is a wonderful vision to have. But it also begs the question, what is a healthy church? It is an extremely important question. Is it one with growing numbers, an excellent praise band or a large number of full-time staff members? When I think of what it means to be a heathy church, my mind often goes back to Acts chapter 2 and to the description of the early church just after the Holy Spirit had been poured out at Pentecost:
‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.’ (Acts 2:42)
‘And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.’ (Acts 2:47)
A healthy church is devoted to certain things. Devotion to something means we are heavily committed to something, recognising its value and importance. What are you devoted to? These Spirit-filled Christians were devoted to the teaching of the church, sharing their lives with their fellow Christians and supporting them, the sacraments of the church and to the church’s meetings for prayer. We also see evangelism is a crucial ingredient in the life of the early church as the Lord is adding to their number. These things give us the blueprint for the church. They map out what we should be devoted to today. Out of all of these ingredients, which are we best at as a church and which are we weakest in? I believe the two areas we need to grow in the most are in learning to share our faith with others, and in learning to pray together. For me, identifying areas of weakness can only be positive, as then with God’s help, we can endeavour to become a healthier church. All churches must try to be healthier.
This morning, we are returning once again to our 7-part vision statement for the next 4 years. The fourth part of our statement is this: ‘That we would keep close to God, and be faithful in prayer, both in our homes and also at the prayer meeting.’ We cannot possibly be a healthy church unless we are a church family which prays together. Praying together is one of the most basic things Christians gather together to do. We need to be honest and recognise just how weak we are in this area. However, our purpose is not to make people feel guilty but remain unchanged; rather, our purpose is to be inspired by the early church and get back on track. The early church was a church steeped in an atmosphere of prayer, both prayer in private and in public. They were devoted to prayer. As the early church was waiting for the Spirit to be poured out we read: ‘They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.’ (Acts 1:14) Wouldn’t it be thrilling if today some of us were inspired by God’s Word to meet together in order to pray more? This would please the Lord.
The early church would gather to pray together in times of crisis but also in times of peace and calm. At all times, they want to spend time together with the Lord because they love him and because they want to be found in his will.
As we zoom in on Acts chapter 12, we find the church in a time of crisis. There is a spiritual battle going on in this book – the same battle that is going on today. Put simply, it is a battle between good and evil. The evil side seems so powerful, headed by Herod Agrippa the 1st: ‘It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.’ & nbsp; (Acts 12:1-2)
Herod is a people-pleaser. He is unpopular, but desperate to win the favour of the Jews (and everyone else). And so he has James, one of the twelve disciples, put to death and this delights the Jews: ‘When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also.’ (Acts 12:3) His uncle was the Herod (Antipas) who had tried Jesus and his grandfather was the Herod (Herod the Great) who had the infant boys of Bethlehem massacred. In other words, this was a family totally opposed to the gospel.
Now Peter has been imprisoned, ‘… guarded by four squads of four soldiers each…’ (Acts 12:4) The might of Rome is coming up against this small Christian group. What chance did they have? What could they do? Perhaps it seemed as if the church would never last. It might get snuffed out like a candle.
Herod didn’t want to do his dirty work during a religious festival lest he offended the Jews! This is so hypocritical. He will wait for a few days until the festival is over, conduct a show trial, and bring Peter to the same fate as that of James. What can Christians do, a small hated minority, when up against Roman guards, iron chains, and an iron prison gate? What can the church do? What weapons can the church yield? They have no army to muster. They have no contacts from foreign armies to call on for help. The state seems all-powerful. Its rulers have no concern whatsoever for the plight of Christians. And yet there is a weapon.
1. The early church recognised the power of prayer
‘So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.’ (Acts 12:5) The church had a massive weapon. And they go on the offensive. Prayer was a big deal for them. Prayer was the main thing that they could do, even when circumstances seemed impossible to overcome. Is that how you see prayer, as the main weapon we have as a church? On Wednesday we gathered to pray for the good of the great nation of Turkey. Only 1 in every 10,000 people is a Christian there. That seems so bleak. It might seem impossible to change. It might seem pointless trying to do anything in a place like that. The early church would look at that situation and say to us, ‘Friends, we need to pray together.’ The early church believed and experienced that prayer changes things, because God hears and answers our prayers.
Let’s be honest, many of us struggle to believe in the power of prayer to bring about real change. If we did, our prayer meeting would be far busier on a Wednesday night. We would be enthusiastic about hearing about other nations, and sharing in the work through praying together. We would meet together pleading with God to save our loves ones, to be at work in our communities, to strengthen our families and to help us in our struggle against sin. Many people in our churches today can accurately be described as ‘practical atheists’. They believe in God but their actions and prayerlessness reveal that really God is irrelevant to their every day lives. They pray little at home if at all, and they seldom gather with others to pray.
The early church were the opposite. They look at this really tough situation with Peter’s incarceration and they see Herod’s military strength. But they see far more. They look with the eyes of faith beyond what they can physically see and know that there is a far greater king on the throne that Herod. They factor that into the equation. They don’t say ‘there’s nothing we can do’. Rather, they instinctively know that there is something to be done: they must gather to pray. They pray with faith, believing that the Lord is able to set Peter free should he deem that to be best.
They pray with faith but they also pray ‘earnestly’ (verse 5). In other words, they pray with zeal and passion and with all their hearts. This word ‘earnestly’ is the same word used to describe the way in which Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane: ‘And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.’ (Luke 22:44). Jesus prays with passion for another way to be found if there was another way, but all the time he prays submitting to the fact that his Father’s answer might be. ‘No’. ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’ (Luke 22:42) Jesus knows the power of prayer, but he also knows that prayer is not just getting what you want. Prayer is not an insurance policy against adversity!
Does prayer work? Yes it does, because God works when we pray! On this occasion there is a quick answer to the prayers of the church. It’s usually not like that! But God chooses to send an angel to rescue Peter. It is comical just how effortlessly Peter is able to escape. The chains just fall from his arms and the prison doors open by themselves. Herod and his military might is no match for the King of Kings: ‘… the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches…’ (Act2 12:11) I love the honesty of the account of this prayer meeting in Mary’s house. They are praying with faith and yet when their prayers are answered the are so slow to believe it. Perhaps I’m like that when I pray for conversions but then doubt it has actually happened. Could he or she really be a Christian?
Campbell Morgan: ‘These people pray earnestly and doubtingly, and yet that force of earnest halting prayer was mightier than Herod and mightier than hell.’
Thomas Watson: ‘An angel fetched Peter out of prison, but prayer fetched the angel out of Heaven’. Friends, we need to believe in the power of prayer. ‘You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.’ (James 4:2:)
Can it be said of Kirkcaldy Free Church that we are not seeing more conversions and more growth in holiness because we do not ask? Let’s come together and ask!
Please note again what the early church were doing in verse 12: ‘When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.’ Many of the men and woman in spite of their busyness, come together in order to pray. They don’t make lame excuses and they don’t need their arms twisted to come. They come because they wanted to come. They recognise that there is no better use of their time than to come together with the saints to pray. ‘Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.’ (Matthew 18:19-20)
2. The early church know praying does not mean getting what we want
Some people use their own negative experience as an excuse not to pray. They say, ‘I tried praying and it didn’t work. God left me in the situation’. But Jesus was also left in the situation. The difference is this: God sustained him in that situation and brought him through it. Prayer is not about getting what we want, or even what we think is best. We can still pray specifically, but all the time, like Jesus we must say, ‘Father, may your will be done’. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t hear and answer our prayers, but he does so according to what he knows is best. He is altogether wise. He alone sees the big picture. So, then, we pray with faith and fervour but also favouring the will of God to come to pass rather than our own wants. Though he doesn’t always give us what we want, he will strengthen us in our situations.
The mystery of God’s will is something we seen clearly in Acts 12. It’s illustrated by the fact that God allows the apostle James to be killed but chooses to save the apostle Peter. This is not random. God knows what he is doing, but we do not. We need to trust him and submit to his mysterious will. I believe the church would have been praying just as fervently for James; however, it is the Lord’s will to take him to Heaven. We cannot understand this. There is no explanation given by God. But I agree with Campbell Morgan, who says that there is great comfort in the revelation of a God like this: ‘…the one who could deliver Peter, and in his wisdom did so, was equally wise when He did not deliver James. Life can never be perfectly understood in the process of its living; we must wait… God does all things well.’
This reminds me of the way Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego pray before entering the fiery furnace. They understand that God is able to save, but that he might not. ‘If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.’ (Daniel 3:17-18)
3. Let us learn from and be like the early church
If we are honest, prayer is sometimes a last resort for us. We try to sort our own problems in our own strength, and if that doesn’t work, then we might just pray. But prayer should be our first recourse. It should be our first resort in times of need and times of peace.
Gordon Keddie: ‘Prayer properly precedes whatever other actions, if any, may be decided upon… This is a vital test of the reality of a person’s faith. Those who are really trusting the Lord pray first, and then act while continuing to look to the Lord. Those who trust themselves act first, and then pray only in desperation, and to whoever will hear.’
Friends, let’s encourage one another to make prayer our first port of call in all situations. This is exactly what prayer was for the early church.
The seemingly impossible situation the church faced was Peter being held in maximum security and facing death. What impossible situations do we face as a church family or in our own families at home? There are situations you face which you cannot change by your own actions. There are relationships which are broken and loved ones who are not converted and family and work situations which are draining and we see no way out. Change seems impossible. Learn from the early church and get down on your knees and pray through these things each day. Do not give up. Believe that God specialises in changing situations where it seems hopeless. Jairus was told, ‘Your daughter is dead; don’t bother the teacher anymore.’ Jesus says to him ‘Keep on believing’. You need the eyes of faith to see beyond the circumstances and see God on his throne.
And finally, let’s wrestle with this fact, in the early church these under-pressure Christians, Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, men and women were in the habit of praying together. Yes, they prayed on their own too and in their families. But they regularly came together to pray. That’s what the church does. What will you do with that fact?
Harry Reeder: ‘Often in our churches today every other ministry takes over from the ministry of prayer. And I suggest that many times this is the primary reason why churches decline or die. They have charismatic leaders or slick programmes, but they have become ineffective because the church has stopped praying. On the other hand, any church that commits itself to prayer, no matter how bad things may have become, can be renewed and rebuilt by the power of the Spirit.’
If you can join us on a Wednesday evening to pray I would encourage you do to so. If you cannot, then I would encourage you to find another time when you can meet with other Christians to pray. May we be a church committed to praying together.