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November 22, 2009

Acts 12:5-12

Knowing Persecution

 

Peter was a disciple of Jesus.

 He had followed Jesus throughout His entire ministry.

  He saw Jesus’ authority over this natural world.

   He witnessed Jesus’ healing touch on broken and wounded bodies.

    He was with Jesus when He walked on water and calmed storms.

     He heard the parables of Jesus.

      He heard the wisdom and authority with which He spoke.

       He heard the crowd’s comments about their impressions of Jesus.

        Some thought Jesus was a prophet.

         Some thought Jesus was John the Baptist

          Some thought He was Elijah or Jeremiah.

           Some thought Jesus was a despised Samaritan (John 8:48).

           Some thought Jesus was demon-possessed (John 8:52)

             Some thought Jesus was Satan because of His authority over evil.

              But Peter spoke up for the disciples to proclaim who Jesus was.

              “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  (Matthew 16:16)

               He was close to Jesus at the time of His arrest.

                He was nearby during the trial.

                 He knew Jesus died on the cross.

                  He was the first disciple to enter the empty tomb Easter morning.

                   He had the last recorded conversation with Jesus (Jn. 21:15-23).

Small wonder that Peter took a few steps on the water himself!

 Small wonder that it was Peter who preached the sermon on the Day of Pentecost!

  Small wonder that Peter, in Jesus’ name, pulled a lame beggar onto his feet!

   Small wonder that Peter became the head of the Jerusalem Church!

    When you know Jesus well you are involved in His ministry.

     It was not surprising when Peter was arrested by Herod and sentenced to death.

      When you know Jesus well you are going to be persecuted.

       That thought says something to me about the persecuted church today.

        There is a reason there is a persecuted church today.

         Those in the persecuted church know Jesus, and they know Him well!

          There is no wishy-washy relationship.

           They are intense in following Jesus.

            They are focused on experiencing His will for their lives and others.

            Jesus said, “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’  If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.  If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.”  (John 15:20)

             Those in the persecuted Church know Jesus.

Elton Trueblood said, “The ultimate enemy is not pain or disease or physical hardship, evil as they may be, but our triviality.  What is terrible for men and women is the conviction that they are not needed, that they can contribute nothing, and that their lives add up to no enduring meaning.”

              Those in the persecuted Church know Jesus.

               They know Him so well that their lives are not trivial.

                Their life of faith does have meaning.

                 They are making a significant impact for Jesus on their world.

And those in the persecuted Church know something about persecution.

 They not only experience persecution, they know about persecution.

  Because they know it, they can embrace it.

   Corrie ten Boom obviously knew about persecution.

    She was a survival of the Nazi death camps.

     Those were days of intense persecution.

      Friends and family died all around her.

       Yet her faith in Jesus never wavered.

        After she was liberated from the camps she prayed;

         “Thank you, Lord, that because you are with us, we will have power and strength in the battles ahead.  With our weak hand in Your strong hand we stand on victory ground.  Hallelujah!”

          Corrie ten Boom knew what every persecuted Christian knows.

           She knew what the Apostle Peter knew as he was in prison.

           We need to know these things about persecution.

 

I   PRAYER PEOPLE.

     The Church is prayer.

      Jesus tried to get this truth across to us when He cleansed the temple.

       The temple was to be a place of prayer.

        Well a building does not pray.

         It is the people who make up the Body of Christ that pray.

          The Church is in fellowship with the Father through Jesus.

           The Church is prayer.

Peter knew that while he was being persecuted.

 We should not need to be told to pray for the persecuted Church.

  If we know persecution we pray.

   Peter knew, while chained in prison that the church was praying.

    We see in verse 5, “So Peter was kept in prison; but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.”

     Isn’t that a beautiful statement?

      “By the Church” – the Church is prayer.

       Let’s jump ahead in the story of Peter’s persecution.

        He finds himself miraculously in the street.

         When he comes to his senses what does he do?

          He heads straight to Mary’s house.

           What was going on in Mary’s house?

           “Many were gathered together and were praying” (v. 12).

            Peter knew where he would find prayer.

             In fact they were so much in prayer they didn’t respond to his knock.

              That is what the persecuted church knows about persecution.

               People are praying because the Church is prayer.

                They know they are not alone in the persecution.

                 The life of the believer is prayer.

Prayer is not just an activity.

 We have turned it into that in our generation.

  It is not a duty.

   It certainly is not “I’m here now God so talk to me!”

    Or “I’m busy now so I’ll catch You later”.

     Prayer is who the disciple of Jesus is.

      When Jesus is at the centre of my life my life is prayer.

       I am tuned into God’s presence wherever I am.

        I hear His voice whatever I’m doing.

         He flows through me.

          That is the difference the infilling Holy Spirit makes.

            He is that river of life that springs up and flows out.

            He is the dynamic presence of God in our lives.

            I, as part of the Body of Christ, am prayer.

             I am not just a pray-er.

              My life is prayer.

We need to know that about persecution, even though we are free.

 We need to know that people pray and not just at a time of crisis.

  Can the persecuted brothers and sisters count on you?

   Your life being prayer is what the persecuted church counts on.

    They know that about the church –PRAYER PEOPLE - prayer without ceasing.

 

II  POWERLESS PRISONS

     Peter knew that God could never be fettered.

      Peter did not know what would transpire that night while in prison.

       He had no assurance that Herod’s plans would not happen.

        Herod planned to execute Peter the next morning.

         That was the expectation.

          The guards stood.

           The chains shackled.

           The doors secured.

            Herod had no doubt that Peter would be there come daylight.

             But prisons are powerless.

              They might lock people in but they can’t lock God out.

               God is never restricted.

                Jesus said “No one takes My life from Me.”

                 He had already laid His life down.

                  Crucifixion was not forced upon Him.

                   He knew persecution and had already settled His sacrifice.

Peter had done the same thing.

 He did not resist Herod because nothing could separate him from God.

  Not even a self-proclaimed god like Herod was an obstacle.

   Father on in chapter 12 we read, “On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne and made an oration to them.  And the people shouted, ‘The voice of a god, and not of man!’  Immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he did not give God the glory; and he was eaten by worms and died.  But the word of God grew and multiplied.”  (Acts 12:21-24)

    Prisons, and those who put their trust in them are powerless.

     Jesus said, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”  (Jn. 8:36)

      Peter knew that about persecution.

       God was with him.

        Peter was locked up in a POWERLESS PRISON.

 

That is what those who are persecuted know about persecution.

 That is why they can be persecuted.

  PEOPLE PRAYER and POWERLESS PRISONS.

   We have been given opportunities to be what the persecuted church knows.

    Look at the next few slides.

     Parade walkers, Soles for Souls, Dream Coat Give Away, and Water for life.

      What is that all about?

       This is God’s response through us to those persecuted by the enemy.

        This is God at work to liberate those in prisons.

         People are in prisons of hunger, cold, thirst, spiritual darkness.

          But these are powerless prisons because of people prayer.

Charles Colson in his book Loving God wrote these thoughts in chapter 14.

    Holiness is obeying God – loving one another as He loved us.

    Holiness is obeying God – even when it is against our own interests.

    Holiness is obeying God – sharing His love, even when it’s inconvenient.

    Holiness is obeying God – loving one another as He loved us.

    Holiness is obeying God – finding ways to help those in need.