God in Action (as seen in Acts 12)

Here, in Acts 12, we have a concerted effort by a jealous civic ruling power (in the form of King Herod Agrippa 1) to eliminate the key figures of the Christian movement.

Herod’s attempts are understandable if we study this ruler’s family legacy: his grandfather was Herod “the Great” … who sought the whereabouts of Jesus at his birth through the ‘wise-men’ from the East; and when he failed in this attempt to have the baby Jesus killed, massacred all the children of Bethlehem under two years of age. And, his uncle was Herod Antipas, who was responsible for the beheading of John the Baptist, and before whom … Jesus stood trial!!

This Herod (v.1), took every opportunity to increase his popularity with the anti-Christian population, with the purely selfish intent of preserving the status-quo & keeping the peace … thereby ensuring a successful reign as king. This sort of pragmatism demanded that disruptive dissenters be ruthlessly eliminated!

No wonder the people went into fervent prayer!!

James, the disciple of Jesus, brother of John, fisherman son of Zebedee, paid the ultimate price (in hostile circumstances) for his committed & active faith. And Peter was next!!

The authorities had hoped that the crucifixion of Jesus would have brought an end to his ethical challenge & spiritual awakening, however in this they were completely mistaken! Disciples / Jesus followers / so-called “Christians” … (these) wholeheartedly committed themselves to perpetuating Jesus’ mission of reconciliation with God; and it took extreme measures to silence them.

Peter was arrested, thrown in prison … to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers, working in shifts around the clock … two soldiers outside the prison door, and two soldiers inside the cell – Peter being chained by the wrists between them. [Usually such prisoners would only be bound to one guard = so here we have Peter being held under extreme security (due to Herod’s unwillingness to risk any chance of escape).]

After the Passover commemorations were complete, Peter would be brought out before the people for trial and public execution.

Peter has come so far … from a small private fishing business to the leader of a fast growing spiritual movement … from a fear of being recognised as a friend of Jesus to a new confidence in fearlessly preaching the good news in the power of the Holy Spirit. Was it all to end here?

I imagine that (quite reasonably) Peter was feeling:
· scared - we’re not sure if he knew about all this prayer going on!
· worried - his fellow disciple James had just been executed!
· confused - after all he was in the prime of his life & ministry!

However, interestingly, Peter was sleeping … which could suggest exhaustion, but could also suggest peacefulness – in that his life was truly in God’s hands.

The early Church learned very quickly that if they were to survive, let alone grow, they needed to dedicate themselves to prayer. Therefore, it is not surprising to find members of the local church at prayer in their house groups, at the time when their foremost leader’s very life was at stake. And this was “fervent” prayer (v.5): earnest, committed, faithful, intense, heartfelt, united, continuous prayer; and an intimate conversation with God … whom they trusted wholly for the right outcome!

The Church “fervently” prayed and now something was going to happen! God was going to act!! And act God did!!!

Peter’s fate is NOT at the whim of Herod (as Herod indeed thinks), but rather in the hands of a loving, purposeful God! At just the right time, the night before Peter’s trial (v.6) – God intervenes!

THERE WAS AN ANGEL & BRIGHT LIGHT; PETER WAS WOKEN WITH THE WORDS “GET UP QUICKLY”; AS HE DID, THE CHAINS SECURING HIM TO THE SOLDIERS FELL AWAY; OBEYING INSTRUCTIONS, PETER DRESSED HIMSELF & FOLLOWED THE ANGEL OUT OF THE PRISON WITHOUT BEING TROUBLED BY ANY OF THE GUARDS or the heavy iron gate. PETER FOUND HIMSELF FREE & IN THE ENVIRONS OF THE CITY!

Dreams can be very vivid & seem very real, and Peter originally attributed all this to a dream. However, when reality struck, Peter knew who had brought this all about. Only God could have freely entered that cell, broke the chains that bound him, disabled the guards’ ability to do anything to stop his escape, and see him through to safety in the face of such dire circumstances!

Even in thinking he was in the middle of a dream, Peter could connect with a voice saying to him the words “follow me” (v.8) and respond appropriately.

The “Angel of the Lord” and the bright “light” represent God breaking into a very ‘dark’ situation for Peter. God was bringing an assurance that no-one can defeat God’s purposes and the spreading of the Gospel.

[Only God can rescue us from the ‘hell-holes’ we find ourselves in at times, break the chains that bind us…take the shackles off our feet so we can dance, deliver us from the evil influences around us (which would hamper our progress), and see us (as well) through to safety in the face of difficult circumstances!!]

Peter said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from [my enemies]” (v.11).

Do we notice that this miraculous escape occurred while the people were deep in prayer! Those at John Mark’s home were still deep in the atmosphere of prayer when Peter came-a-knocking!

We can also notice that this is a very honest re-telling of the story, because despite their prayer being described as “fervent”, these people were quote: “amazed” at seeing Peter (v.16). This reminds us that it is one thing to pray with all our hearts, but another to really believe God will act, and still another thing again to actually be alert … looking for God’s answer … not wanting to miss God’s activity!

Having prayed, are we looking for such marvellous interventions by God; or have we prayed only through obligation, and have already dismissed the possibility of any dramatic change? As we pray, are we also seeking to observe what God might be doing! God might already be working towards an appropriate solution before we have even started praying!! The purpose of our praying would then be more inclined towards an active observation and focus on what God is already doing!!!

Prayer, as well as being a petitioning communication with God, is an opportunity for developing our awareness of God’s presence and activity amongst us! In the place of prayer we actually then discover God’s level of care for the community around us, and where He is leading and guiding us to make our contribution.

Where do we already see God operating in our community [workplace, school]???
· At the Point Cook Market – drawing children and their parents toward our activities (which have a positive and hopeful edge to them)
· In people volunteering at the Jamieson Way Community Centre – showing their community spirit and care for the needs of other residents
· At the “Christmas By The Lake” planning meetings – where there has been an expressed desire for more traditional [Jesus honouring] carols, and a nativity drama of some kind
· At “Search for Life” – drawing people from the broad community into a connection with Jesus and Jesus followers (that can be discussed over ten weeks).

It could have been that these people in the house, when they accused the ‘maid’ Rhoda of being “out of [her] mind” (v.15) in claiming that Peter was at the door, and then were “amazed” at seeing Peter themselves, could have felt this way because God had acted way above & beyond the scope of their prayers. These faithful people had experienced the execution of their beloved friend James, and may have felt restricted to simply pray that God would draw close to Peter in this time leading up to his inevitable death. We should of course not limit the possibilities of God’s response!

It was the ‘maid’ Rhoda that saw beyond what others expected to see, and was not prepared to have her enthusiasm crushed by suggestions she was out of her mind – “she insisted that it was so” (v.15)! She was so expectant … a few words from outside the gate was enough for her to recognise that prayer had been answered in a remarkable way. Rhoda might have been considered a lowly hired servant, but here exhibited characteristics of Christian Leadership!

The important point remains that: even though these Christians didn’t fully understand God’s intentions – their faithfulness in prayer didn’t diminish! THE POWER OF GOD WAS STILL UNLEASHED TOWARDS HIS PURPOSES & WILL THROUGH THE CHURCH BEING PREPARED TO CO-OPERATE WITH HIM IN PRAYER … a place from which God’s power (to bring about change) is experienced.