I invite you to turn with me tonight to Acts 12. Acts chapter 12. We consider verses 5 through 17 of Acts 12. I'd like us to read together verses 1 through 19 of this chapter. Acts 12, beginning at verse 1, as we give our attention to the Word of God. 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 a sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. Quick, get up, he said. And the chains fell off Peter's wrists. Then the angel said to him, Put on your clothes and sandals. And Peter did so. Wrap your cloak around you and follow me, the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening. He thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. he had opened for them by himself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating. 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. Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and the servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, Peter is at the door. You're out of your mind, they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, it must be his angel. But Peter kept on knocking. When they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. Tell James and the brothers about this, he said. And then he left for another place. In the morning there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, if it happened in our day we would hear a beep on the television when the announcer would say, we interrupt the regularly scheduled program to bring to you this special news report. And then we might hear something like, Herod suspects guards in mysterious escape. Police are baffled. Film at 11. And all of the TV networks, as well as the radio and the newspaper reporters, would be following the story. And throughout the evening, there would be updates about the case. The case of Peter's miraculous escape. This is amazing, isn't it? After all, this is the escape of the century. We're talking about a maximum security prison here. But today, you and I, we're not so surprised as we read this account from Acts 12, are we? We're not so surprised at what God can and will do. You see, what we have here is spiritual warfare as it is made visible through Herod, between Herod and the early New Testament church of Jesus Christ. While Christ was building His church through the preaching of His apostles and disciples, Satan was busy at work trying to stop the growth of Christ's church. Satan, through Herod, was trying to stop the Word of the Lord from being preached. Herod thought he had a good thing going here. He was attacking the church by taking away the church's leaders. In the first part of Acts 12, again, verse 2, we're told, He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. But that's not all. The Jews were delighted. They thought it was a great move. They applauded James' execution. Bravo, Herod. Bravo. Good show. So Herod thought, why ruin a good thing? If killing one preacher is good, killing another one is even better. So Herod arrests Peter. He puts him in prison to await sentencing and punishment for a crime he didn't commit. He was framed. The sentencing won't take place until after the week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread celebration. So Peter sits in prison. And no doubt Herod knew that Peter and some other disciples had somehow escaped from jail before. In Acts 5 we read that the Sadducees laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public jail. But an angel of the Lord during the night opened the gates of the prison and took them out. And because of that, Herod assigns four squads of four soldiers, each 16 soldiers, to guard Peter. Again, Herod was trying his best to choke out the Word of God to stop the spread of the Gospel. But it's clear from verse 24, which we did not read, that Jesus Christ would not allow that to happen. But the Word of God continued to increase and spread. In the midst of persecution, the Word of God continued to increase and spread. That's the major, the primary focus, the primary point of Acts 12. And as we see a demonstration of that primary point in these events, I want to look with you tonight at what we might call the secondary point of the chapter. And that is what God has to teach us about His church and prayer through all of these events that have taken place. Again, Peter's execution had all but taken place. It was a done deal, at least it seemed. He was guarded tightly, just like our modern day maximum security prisons. Any chance of escape or even an attempted escape was out of the question. It was impossible, at least to our human eyes. It looked like the church was losing this battle in the spiritual warfare. What would they do without their chief leader named Peter? What was the church to do even now? as they awaited the upcoming news of what was sure to be Peter's death. Beloved, not only was it a time of persecution for the church, but it was also a time of testing. Therefore, I preach to you the church's response to Peter's captivity as we consider their earnest prayer, the silent escape, and the reaction of doubt. Verse 5 says, So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. See, here we see the antithesis, that opposition between good and evil in full bloom. On the one side, there is the prison holding the preacher of God's Word, the power of darkness, trying to shut off the Word of God. But on the other side, there is Christ's church down on her knees, earnestly praying to God for Peter. There we have it. Spiritual warfare. Well, who is stronger? These guards who were probably some sort of tough men? Or the church? After all, these guys guarded prisoners as if their lives depended on it. In fact, their lives did depend on it, didn't it? As we read in verse 19 that they were executed because of Peter's escape. But who's stronger? These guards or the prayers of the church on Peter's behalf? Now, beloved, we might be tempted to say, wait just a minute, do you mean to tell me that there is this battle going on between Herod and the church? Herod is holding on to Peter, the church's leader, with the full intention of putting him to death, killing him, and all the church is doing about it is praying for him? They're not marching out in front of the prison holding picketing signs? They're not preparing to bomb the door off the prison? They don't have snipers in place ready to pick off the guards whenever they have an open shot? All they're doing is praying. In fact, they're hiding and praying for Him. They're not in a fighting position. They're not watching for the enemy. They're not ready with their finger on the trigger. Their eyes are closed. Their hands are folded. They're on their knees. They're making it easy for the enemy to get them too. So what's going on here? You see, beloved, so often we want to take matters into our own hands. And there are times when God allows us to do that, not in an extremist sort of way, by hurting those who don't agree with us according to Scripture. Or by bombing abortion clinics or executing abortion doctors. We might wonder, though, why they weren't getting their weapons ready to storm the prison and break out their spiritual leader. or imagine that you were in Peter's shoes wondering just what your friend's plan of attack might be. Will they break down the gate? Will they dig a tunnel? Will they ambush the guards? Will they smuggle a file and a cake? What will they do? And then they sneak a message to you. They secretly sneak a message to you that says, we're praying for you. We're praying for you. Is that all? Congregation, this church knew, just like Peter, as we will see, that the battle was not theirs, but it was the Lord's battle. Their faith was being tested, and they passed this part of the test by looking to the Lord for their help. They knew the words of Psalm 121, My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. And those members of the early New Testament church understood what that spiritual warfare is all about. So often as that spiritual battle rages, we hear the marching feet, we hear the bombs blowing up, we hear the tanks and the aircraft, and we reach for our guns. Especially in the past months, we see this on the news every day. Not that what's going on in Iraq, according to us, necessarily, is a holy war. But it is because of the sin in the hearts of men. But with Peter on the front lines in danger, the church does the only thing that is within their power to do. They take up their battle stations on bended knee. They turn to their arsenal of weapons, spiritual weapons. They began to pray earnestly. Beloved, Psalm 50 verse 15 says, Call upon Me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you will honor Me. That spiritual battle still rages. It affects all areas of our lives, our homes, our families, our work, government, Spread of the gospel, the church. What are we to do? Well, first of all, we do as the early church did. We take up our battle stations equipped with the spiritual weapons of Ephesians 6, and then in the power of the Lord's might, we pray earnestly and without ceasing. James 5, verse 16 says, the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. We must admit that at times we are quick to say to someone, aren't we? Well, I will pray or I am praying for you. As if it will make them feel better. But do we really mean it? Do we keep our word? Do we follow through with it? Or is it our only intention to give them a little bit of comfort by saying, I will pray for you? We've considered in recent weeks the beauty and the power of faithful prayer as we have studied the Lord's Prayer together as well. 1 John 5, verse 14, which says if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. What a powerful weapon God has given to us. Both those who pray and those for whom prayer is made must take prayer seriously. And beloved, when someone says, I'm praying for you, our response should never be, is that all you're doing? But it should be, you're doing all that? Thank you. This early church was having her faith tested by spiritual warfare and she responded with earnest prayer. Why? Because she knew where her help came from. Today, Satan is busy. Satan is active. We know that. We talked a little bit about compromise this morning. But he is so busy trying to get us, to strip us away from our Heavenly Father. As Christianity is tacked by the laws of the land, He's working hard. Laws that give people rights that are in complete violation of the Word of God as well. The world is out to steal our children, to steal their minds, to steal their hearts, to steal their desires. Now what are we to do? We are to be fervent in prayer. In the second place, we see that while the church continued in prayer, even without being aware of it, there was an escape taking place, It's a silent escape. We call it a silent escape because neither the church, the guards, nor anyone else except God knew that it was taking place. The text says in verse 6, the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Peter was sleeping. Here we have a beautiful picture of Peter's rock-solid faith in Jesus Christ, the one who had before denied Jesus Christ three times on the night our Lord was given over to the guards. Peter denied Him three times because he feared for his life. And now in the midst of death, he's sleeping. He's sleeping. You see, Peter wasn't concerned if or how the church would break him out. He didn't have to be. He had the assurance that God's will and God's timing is sovereign and perfect. Peter knew what Herod was going to do. After all, look at what he did to James. That was no secret. And if this is what God had in store for Peter, that was fine. Peter had such assurance that he himself wrote, cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Peter shows his complete trust and faith in God during what was to be his last night of life by sleeping peacefully. We're reminded as well of Paul and Silas in the prison in Philippi. Because of their faith, God gave them the energy and the desire to pray and sing hymns in the middle of the night, according to Acts 16, verse 25. And beloved, our Lord Jesus Christ will give that peace that passes all understanding to all who trust in Him by true faith. Even as it says in Isaiah 26, You will keep in perfect peace Him whose mind is steadfast because He trusts in you. If you want to see some modern day examples, beloved, go visit Dick Hutting. Go visit John Yohannes. Go visit Katharina von Eggman. Go visit Reverend Howard Zeil. And you see that wonderful peace of God that passes understanding in the midst of very difficult situations. And many others that we know. So Peter is sleeping peacefully. He wasn't worried about escape. After all, he was chained to two guards with other guards at the doors of the prison, a total of 16. It would take a miracle for him to escape. And that's exactly what happened. While the church continues to pray, they didn't know it, but Peter was receiving his marching orders and their prayers were being answered. It's time for him to return to the open battlefield to go back to his troops. And our text gives us a step-by-step detailed account of the escape. And we don't see just one miracle here. We see a series of miracles. Now we know, of course, that God could have simply removed Peter, taken Peter, removed him from the prison, and placed him right in the midst of the church at Mary's house. He could have done that, but God doesn't do that. We don't know why for sure except to say that by going through this series of events, God allows us to take a longer, harder look at His majesty and power. Again, Peter's death looked like it was a sure thing. Herod had made the security as tight as humanly possible. And again, there's the key. In this series of miracles, our God shows Peter and the early church and his enemies and you and me that He is supreme over any man-made obstacle and that no one can stop God's Word. We read in verse 7, Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. Quick, get up, he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. Now we would think that with the light and the speaking and Peter moving around and the chains dropping off and making noise, that surely the guards would wake up. No. God is in control. And then the angel leads Peter like a child, telling him exactly what to do next and where to go. Get dressed, Peter. Don't forget your sandals. Put on your clothes and follow me. And, of course, we're told that Peter isn't even sure if this is really happening or not. But if it isn't, it sure is a good dream. And Peter follows the angel out of the prison, past the first and the second guards. We're told nobody wakes up. But remember, God is in control. They come to the iron gate, and now surely this is going to give them trouble because that gate was huge and heavy. Boys and girls, it took a number of men even to swing it. It was big. But no, God is in control. The iron gate opens automatically with no hands. And once they had walked the length of one street, the angel disappeared just as suddenly as he had appeared in the first place. The angel stayed with Peter until he was completely free. And by this time, Peter was awake. He knew that it was more than a dream. It was real. He says in verse 11, Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating. Through this series of miracles and this escape, God made Peter literally slip through Herod's fingers. He slips out of the grasp of the first two guards as the chains simply fall off. Then He slips through the fingers of the rest of the guards, completely unnoticed, and then finally He slips through the gate that opens automatically. Beloved, as the church kept on praying to God for Peter, God was answering their prayers. And in His answer, He was showing that His Word cannot be stopped, especially not by any human power such as Herod. The church of Jesus Christ was here to stay, built upon a firm foundation. The gates of hell could not prevail over Christ's church. In this spiritual battle of warfare, God's Word shall prevail, and God will hear and answer the faithful prayers of His people. But God's answers to prayer often come, as we know, when we're not expecting them. This church had been faithful to God in prayer the whole time Peter was in prison. This may have been for several days since the Jews were celebrating the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which went on for a whole week. And Herod, in his twisted respect for the Jewish feast, was going to wait until it was over to put Peter on display. As far as the church was concerned, God hadn't answered their prayers yet, At least they thought. And the situation looked more hopeless as time went on. But now they were about to find out just how great their God is. And in doing so, they show us their reaction of doubt. The angel is gone from Peter's side. He's figured out that what has just taken place and he knows where to go. He obviously was familiar with Mary's house as a secret gathering place for Christians. He goes to her house. He can't get past the outer gate because it's locked up tight. Most likely because they feared Herod and his persecution, so they kept the gate locked because they didn't want any surprised unwelcomed visitors. Little did they know that the surprised visitor that stood outside the gate would bring joy to their hearts and put praise on their lips. And while the church was praying, Peter knocked at the outer entrance and anxiously the servant girl Rhoda goes to the entrance. Who could it be? Was it Herod's soldiers coming now to get them? No. It's Peter. Wow. It's really Peter. Rhoda knew his voice. She recognized it. She was sure beyond a shadow of a doubt. She forgets to let him in, which I believe is significant because if she had, we wouldn't have seen the church's doubt. And we can imagine her excitement as she screams, it's Peter! It's Peter! He's at the door! He's free! But notice something. Notice this. That nobody asks her why she didn't let him in. And the church didn't respond by saying, Hallelujah! The Lord has answered our prayers. They simply didn't believe her. We can almost imagine the look on their face, the blank stare as they say, Yeah, right. Whatever. You're nuts, Rhoda. You're completely out of your mind. Herod has Peter locked up so tightly that no one could escape. It would take a miracle to free Peter. And that certainly isn't going to happen. Well, wouldn't they be surprised, huh? At what God can do. Rhoda kept insisting that it was Peter and they still didn't believe her. They must have come to the conclusion that Herod didn't wait until tomorrow. He must have already killed Peter so now Peter's angel was coming to them. Again, the doubt of the people of God. Sometimes I think we want to shake them and ask, if you didn't believe that God could rescue Peter, then why were you praying in the first place? But how often don't we pray that way, huh? How often don't we pray that way? Just simply going through the motions. Finally, they realize that someone is still knocking at the door, so they decide to take a look for themselves, and what do you know? Surprise. It's Peter. This night of doubting had turned into a day of rejoicing. And as the text says, Peter quiets them down. He tells them what happened. He instructs them to spread the word to another James and to the rest of the church. Congregation, in the church's response, we see that they struggled with doubt. I said a moment ago that God answers faithful prayer. Well, what were they praying for anyway? Were they praying without faith? I don't think so. The text says that they prayed earnestly. And it may have been for a few days or more. They had genuine faith, but in their human weakness they also doubted. They put limits on what they thought God could do. And I believe that even if they were no longer praying for Peter's release on this last night, they were praying that God would give Peter grace to endure what seemed to be before Him. And I think we do the same thing, don't we? when we have a loved one on their deathbed. But even in their doubtfulness, God gave them much more than they had hoped for. He answered their prayers and overcame their doubt. And beloved, it would be easy for us to sit here tonight and tear apart this church's reaction of doubt, but we should be the absolute last ones to get in line to criticize them. Actually, this episode in Acts 12 must be a comfort and an encouragement to you and me. We believe that we too pray in faith. But we also experience doubt. There are times when we put limits on God. We pray simply because it's the thing to do. Again, we pray for those lying on their deathbeds with life-taking diseases. But deep down, we don't believe there's any way that they could get better. And in many cases, they don't. But so often we pray to God without expecting God to answer our prayers. But in the end, so often as God deals graciously with us as His children, there are so many times when we receive double from the Lord's hand, more than we had even hoped for. We don't know what God's will is in many of life's situations, yet we should never be surprised at what He can and often does do. Beloved, God answers all prayer that is according to His will, prayed in faith. I'm not saying, as you know, that this means that God will give us whatever we ask for. There are times that we know that we do not pray according to His will. We need to remember that when the outcome is not what we wanted, that it's still an answer. An answer can be yes or no. When God says no, that it's still an answer. I'm sure that the church prayed for James as well, but the Lord allowed Herod to take his life. But here in this episode, God built up the church's faith by giving them an answer that they didn't expect. And we too can be assured that even though we experience periods of doubt in our prayers, that God will hear us for the sake of Jesus Christ. And in that spirit then, we can pray in confidence knowing that God will hear and answer our prayers. And we can pray in confidence knowing that there is no sickness so severe that God cannot heal. There is no one so lost in sin that God cannot rescue. There is no situation that is too complicated for God to deal with. We can pray in confidence knowing that God makes no mistakes. Beloved, the early New Testament church received from the Lord's hand more than she had expected. And we must confess the same is true for you and me through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been saved by grace through faith and this is because of the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We enjoy that free gift of salvation which we did not deserve, nor could we have expected it. We enjoy it only because the Word of God, no one can stop God's Word. It has continued on throughout the ages. It has transcended the boundaries of continents. Sometimes we ourselves are the only ones who stand in the way of God's Word when we're afraid to witness to a neighbor because they might laugh at us. They might turn their backs on us. But beloved, never forget, no one can stop the Word of God. It will accomplish what God has sent it to accomplish. We don't understand how God works and why He answers some prayers the way we want and others in a way that we don't want. But we confess with the hymn writer, God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform. And we know that God's Word is true, that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And he says, whoever comes to me, I will not cast him out. And no one can snatch my sheep from my hands. And even though we pray with reservations, the Lord often gives us more than what we hoped for. Let us realize that the prayer of the righteous is a powerful thing. It is powerful because it is heard by an almighty God of power. In Jesus Christ, beloved, faithful prayer can cause chains to fall. Guards to be helpless. Locked gates to swing open. And hesitant believers to rejoice. And in that spirit then, beloved, pray confidently. Pray boldly. Pray expectantly. Yet pray humbly and faithfully, knowing that in all things God works together for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we indeed rejoice once again tonight in that gift of prayer that You have given to Your people by which we might enjoy sweet communion with You. And Father, may it never be our desire to spend time away from You to not be in prayer to Your throne of grace. Help us to always know and understand and have the confidence that You hear the prayers of Your people for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ. And Father, may it be our prayer as well that Your Word would continue to go forth. We praise You that Your Word cannot be stopped. That You are sovereign over all things. That no one can stop what you have ordained, what you have planned. But your purposes will be accomplished perfectly and in your time. Father, may we go forward again in this week as a praying people. Those who continue to bring it to the Lord in prayer, the situations of this life, the struggles of life, the assaults and the evil one that we feel around us, may we bring it to the Lord in prayer. Hear us, O Lord, for Jesus' sake. and in his name we pray, amen.