THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT
Text: Acts 12:1-4
Introduction
1. “God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.” (Matt. 5:10-12).
2. Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer were the two American Christian aid workers being held by the Taliban under threat of death during the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on America and the resulting U.S. attack on Afghanistan. They open their book, "Prisoners of Hope" with these words, "To the Afghan people whom we so dearly love." These words reflect the heart of Christians who are willing to risk persecution and perhaps death for the sake of taking the gospel to the lost, those who are without Christ as personal Savior and Lord. They also wrote; "To our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Your everlasting love healed our hearts and set us free. May we honor and love you with all that we are for all of our days."
3. It is no over-exaggeration that the church of orthodox, conservative, Bible believing Christians is under attack all over the world…including here. However, the Bible that we stand on tells us, “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” (Rom. 8:31).
4. Read Acts 12:1-5
Transition: Scripture is clear that there is…
I. The Victory of the Martyrs (1-2).
A. Began to Persecute Some Believers
1. This chapter begins with, “About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church.”
a. The church was growing dramatically, especially among the Gentiles, and this made the Jewish leaders upset.
b. So, the king began to persecute the Church. This king was Herod Agrippa I.
c. His family background was a little sketchy to say the least. His grandfather was Herod the Great; you might remember him from the Christmas story as the one who had all the male children three years and younger murdered.
d. His father, Herod Antipas was involved in Jesus’ trial and the execution of John the Baptist.
e. His mother was the one who asked for John the Baptist head on a platter. Now, isn’t that a lovely family?
f. Following in his family’s footsteps, this Herod began persecuting the church for political gain.
2. Herod wasn’t content with going after just any Christians, no, he went after to leaders of the church, the apostles. In v. 2 Luke tells us, “He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword.”
a. The first thing that we’re told is that he had James, not James the half-brother of Jesus, but James the Son of Zebedee, brother of John, killed.
b. Luke really doesn’t give us much information here about James’ martyrdom other than his being killed by the sword.
c. However, tradition tells us that while he was in jail James led his jailer to the Lord. Even in the face of death the apostles never lost sight of the great commission.
d. But this raised the question for us; why Peter got rescued twice (as we shall see later in the chapter), while James is killed.
e. Luke doesn’t tell us that, but he tends to leave out details that aren’t a part of the bigger story.
f. Sometimes we just need to trust God for these smaller details in life.
g. Since there have been so many martyrs in the history of the church, does this mean that Jesus was not with them in their hour of need? Absolutely not! They will all receive the ultimate victory!
B. Washed Their Robes
1. Illustration: Did you know that in 1959 there were 1 million Roman Catholics and 600,000 Protestants in China? That may sound a lot but compared to a population that was approaching 1 billion; it was tiny seed. Then in 1959 China closed its doors to the outside world. Many people began to wrap a burial shroud around the Christian church in China. They said it would never survive. Then in 1979 China again opened its doors to the West and to the rest of the world. And a strange thing had happened. That tiny seed 20 years earlier had taken root. The number of Roman Catholics during those dark years rose from 1 million to 3 million and the number of Protestants rose from 600,000 to 3 million. The church during persecution and hardship had grown 53% in twenty years. Today, the fastest growing Christian church is in China, which is estimated at over 300,000,000!
2. The Bible is clear that those who have been martyred over the centuries have not been defeated, but rather they have won.
a. “After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. 10 And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!” (Rev. 7:9-10)
b. “And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white. That is why they stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his Temple. And he who sits on the throne will give them shelter. 16 They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun. 17 For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” (Rev. 7:14-17).
c. The millions upon millions of Christians who have given their lives for the Gospel have not been defeated, but rather they have overcome through the blood of Jesus.
d. Not only are they victorious in the next life, but they are also victorious in this life.
e. Throughout the history of the church, those who have been persecuted have grown dramatically!
f. We have already seen this in the Book of Acts, where the church was persecuted, it spread in large numbers.
g. We are still seeing this today. Where the church is being persecuted, whether this is from outside or inside the church, the church is experiencing revival.
h. Have we been persecuted? Yes, we have, and I believe we shall see revival because of it, because the gates of hell will not prevail against us!
II. The Hope of a Praying Church (3-5).
A. The Church Prayed Very Earnestly
1. Herod, like many politicians in our day, was a people pleaser. If he thought, he could get something for it he would do just about anything. So, Luke tells us in v. 3, “When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration.)”
a. Apparently, killing James made the Jews happy, so Herod had Peter arrested.
b. It’s very interesting that Luke mentions this happened during the Passover celebration.
c. First, it was strategic for Herod, because with it being Passover there were Jews from all over the world in Jerusalem for the celebration.
d. Since it pleased the Jews for him to kill James, Herod figured if I’m going to make people happy by arresting Peter, he might as well do it when there were a lot of people around to witness it.
e. However, this was also good news for Peter, in the sense that Herod was not going to have an execution during the Passover, which is why he didn’t have him killed right away.
2. Luke continues the story by telling us, “Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover.”
a. Now, Peter had a reputation of being hard to hang on to. Don’t forget back in chapter 5 he was imprisoned but got let go.
b. So, Herod wanted to make sure that he kept him under lock and key. He had Peter under the guard of four sets of four soldiers each.
c. In other words, Peter was being watched 24/7 by sixteen soldiers. Luke shares this detail with us to indicate the mighty power of God.
d. There will be times in our lives that human strength alone is not enough.
e. In those times we will have to rely on the Lord’s strength!
3. Luke now sets the stage for what follows in this chapter. He tells us, “But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.”
a. Luke tells us that while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.
b. The word translated “earnestly” means “stretched out,” and indicates that they prayed continually for him in prevailing prayer.
c. So, they were literally on their faces before God praying for Peter to be released.
d. You know there is a difference between the prayers we pray because we’re short on cash and there are bills to pay, and when it is literally a case of life and death.
e. This was a case of life and death for Peter, so, they prayed seriously for Peter with passion and fervor.
f. As we shall see next week, God heard their prayers and answered them!
B. The Power of Prayer
1. Illustration: Author Eugene Peterson says in Reversed Thunder, "While conflicts raged between good and evil, prayers went up from devout bands of 1st c. Christians all over the Roman empire. Massive engines of persecution and scorn were ranged against them. They had neither weapons nor votes. They had little money and no prestige." But they did have prayer. And that prayer helped shape the course of history.”
2. A praying church is an overcoming church!
a. “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18 Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.” (James 5:16-18).
b. Can we stop persecution? No, Jesus said if they persecuted me, they would persecute you.
c. However, we can overcome persecution through prayer.
d. The devil, the world, and even some within the church can throw everything they want at us, but if we pray for God’s strength and protection we will overcome.
e. Will you pray earnestly for our church? Will you commit to praying for our church daily?
f. There is no greater army on earth than a church on its knees!
Conclusion
1. We can see through what happened to the church over the years…
a. Victory of the Martyrs
b. Hope for a Praying Church
2. What’s the point preacher? The question is not will there be persecution, but will we overcome it by earnestly praying?
