SERMON TITLE: WHEN THE CHURCH PRAYS...

SERMON TEXT: "So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God" (Acts 12:5).

SERMON THESIS: We need to pray for a display of God's supernatural power among us.

INTRODUCTIONS: We can expect certain dynamic displays of God's power to be evident before us when we earnestly pray.

The first dynamic we see in this passage is a display of God's supernatural power in, what I am calling...

I. THE GREAT ESCAPE - Perhaps some of you have seen the movie, The Great Escape, staring the late actor, Steve McQueen. In this movie, McQueen escaped from a German prison camp by jumping a fence on a motorcycle. This heroic act pales in sight of the biblical account of Peter, however, escaping from prison. In this biblical account of the great escape, we are not observing an actor on a giant screen, rather we are observing a display of God's supernatural power as a result, I believe, of prayer. This display of God's supernatural power releasing Peter from prison came as a result of God's people praying. The Bible says, "So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him"(v. 5). According to verse 12, " ...many people had gathered and were praying." This verse reminds us the prayer is a corporate effort. What can we learn from the teachings we find in this passage?

1. We need to pray for a display of God's supernatural power in the church. A supernatural display of God's power is what we witness in these following verses...

"On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, µbound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter's side and woke him up, saying, "Get up quickly" And his chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, "Gird 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 continued to follow, and 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 second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him" (Acts 12:6-10).

2. We need to pray earnestly for God's divine intervention into the affairs of men. There are many examples of God's divine intervention in Scripture, as a direct result of prayer. James, in his little epistle asked, "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray" (James 5:13). He goes on to give an example of a man who prayed; showing God's divine intervention as a result of his faithful praying...

"Elijah was µa man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit" (James 5:17-18).

Moses, likewise, prayed prayers of intercession and God intervened...

"Now when the people saw that Moses µdelayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, "Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him... So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people" (Exodus 32:1, 14).

"Therefore µHe said that He would destroy them, Had not Moses His chosen one stood in the breach before Him, to turn away His wrath from destroying them" (Psalm 106:23).

Scripture is replete with examples of Jesus, Himself, who earnestly prayed...

"Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone" (Matthew 14:22-23).

It was Max Lucado who, in his new book, titled Turn, said this about Jesus' prayer life, "Rather than ascend the throne of power, He climbed the mountain of prayer . . . -He went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.'" He goes on to say, "Why place such a premium on prayer? When we work, we work. But when we pray, God works. Scripture attaches breathtaking power to prayer."

3. We need to learn that God answers our prayers when we earnestly pray. We saw that truth in the writings of James, about the prophet Elijah, and there are numerous other examples found in Scripture. I share with you a personal example...

4. We need to learn and understand that God rescues and releases His saints for continued Christian service. Hear Peter's own testimony following his rescue from prison...

"When Peter µcame to himself, he said, "Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting" (Acts 12:11).

I have discovered from personal experiences that God rescues, releases, and restores His servants. One of the best examples I know of in Scripture is this one concerning Lazarus. A servant of the Lord, and close friend of Jesus. After being dead for four days, the Bible says, "Jesus said to them, -Unbind him, and let him go'"(John 11:44). If Jesus can raise someone from the dead, and He has, He is quite capable of rescuing and releasing His servants from whatever it is that hold, binds, or enslaves them.

What is it that you need to be released from? A bad habit? An addiction? A secret sin? If any of these, or anything else, has enslaved you, then take the advice of James, when he wrote, "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray"(James 5:13). Hear these words of the Psalmist...

"Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall µrescue you, and you will honor Me" (Psalm 50:15).

What I have referred to as The Great Escape, in reference to Peter's release from prison, came as a result of the earnest praying of God's people. When the church prayed for a Christian brother, God intervened. God sent a heavenly messenger, and angel, to release him. We, too, can experience a great escape, when God's people pray.

The second dynamic we observe when the church prays is that...

II. GOD ENERGIZES HIS PEOPLE TO ENDURE PERSECUTION

One writer said, "Persecution marked the earliest history of the church as Acts repeatedly shows." In fact, Jesus prepared His disciples for the persecution that was to come as seen in the opening verses of this passage under exposition...

"Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword" (Acts 12:1-2).

Many other passages of Scripture reveal this as well...

"Blessed are those who have been µpersecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You have heard that it was said, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.' But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, -YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:10-12, 38-48).

If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.

"If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, 'THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.' When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning" (John 15:18-27).

Persecution did, and will come, against God's people, but let me remind you of this, "Persecution cannot defeat the prayers and faith of God's people." You see, my dear friends, God does energize His people to endure persecution. Not only does He energize His people to endure persecution, He takes care of the persecutors...

"On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them.The people kept crying out, "The voice of a god and not of a man!" And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died" (Acts 12:21-23).

Why? So that, " . . . the Word of God (will continue - my insertion) to increase and spread" (Acts 12:24). Therefore, we can say, when the church prays, God's Word will continue to increase and spread even in spite of persecution, and as a result of persecution as revealed in Acts 12. Where does this energizing power come from? The answer is found back in Acts, chapter one...

"But you will receive power µwhen the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

This energizing power came after the church prayed...

"These all with one mind µwere continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers" (Acts 1:14).

The third dynamic we observe in this passage is a display of human emotion to God's response to the church's earnest prayers as seen in...

III. THE GIRL WHO EXCLAIMED "Peter is at the door"(v. 14)

While the church is busy praying, Peter, in the meantime, has been released from prison, and is on his way to the place where they are praying. Now see how the rest of the story unfolds...

"And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of µJohn who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. When he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. When she recognized Peter's voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. They said to her, "You are out of your mind!" But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, "It is his angel."But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison and he said, "Report these things to James and the brethren." Then he left and went to another place" (Acts 12:12-17).

In his book, to which I referred earlier in the message, Max Lucado, says that, "Prayer couches two surprises:

1. God listens when we speak - Does not Jesus, Himself, remind us of this truth...

"Ask, and µit will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter...Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' (Matthew 7:7; 21-22).

Lucado, goes on to highlight this truth in these words: "YOU MAY NOT TURN THE HEAD OF YOUR TEACHER OR KEEP THE ATTENTION OF YOUR SPOUSE, BUT WHEN YOU PRAY, GOD PAUSES."

2. We seldom pray - "Our lack of prayer surprises even God." Now, if I may, I want to add a third surprise...

3. We are often surprised when God answers. In fact, we pray without expectations. Does not the response of the disciples who were praying earnestly for Peter, to be released bear out this truth. Hear the following phrases... Rhoda was so surprised that she left poor bewildered Peter standing outside the door. When she ran to tell the others, they said, "You're out of your mind"(v. 15). Luke further states, "They were astonished"(v. 16).

Should we be surprised when God answers our prayers? NO! What is the obvious lesson here? When the church prays, the church should wait with expectations. The Psalmist did. He said...

"Heed µthe sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch" (Psalm 5:2-3).

Are you waiting expectantly for God to answer your prayers? Will you be surprised when He does?

CONCLUSION: Are you willing and ready to pray for a display of God's supernatural power in His church? The greatest display of God's supernatural power in the church, and particularly in the life of a lost person, is when He saves their soul. If you don't know Jesus, you can receive Him now. Will you pray and ask Him to become your Savior? The choice is yours!!