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March 29, 2009                                                                               Rev. Scott Shelton

Acts 12

Back to the Blueprints

(13) Called to be Free

 

Thanks to Terry Crockett for sharing today. God calls each of us to be free
and to love and serve Him - and Terry is answering that call.

                 Author Randy Frazee says for many of us, our busy lifestyles can create a toxic disease called "Crowded Loneliness." We don't have time to soak in life and deep friendships.  In his book, Bowling Alone, Harvard professor Robert Putnam has some startling research. He says that the average American family engages in thirteen automobile commutes a day. Studies show that 80% of the cars traveling in the cities and suburbs have only one person in them, the driver. Frazee and Putnam conclude that our busyness and aloneness reduces our opportunities for relationships, even the relationships with our closest loved ones. Unless, we are careful, our busy, lonely lifestyles, can crowd out God too. I know I am tempted by the access to too much information - the crawl across the bottom of the TV screen of all the latest basketball score, news from Afghanistan, or the stock market ticker. I will admit that on some days, I know more about those items than I know what happened at my kids' school, or what God might be speaking to me in His still small voice.

                 But all of us, individually and collectively, have a call. We're called to be free from things that limit us from being in relationship with our Creator and with others. This is God's call for us - to share life with Him and others.

                 Let's read in Acts chapter 12, the whole passage, a great short story about answering God's call to be free - even in times of crises.

                 It's a great short story - a smaller part of a larger story of the early church which we have been studying since January. As in any story, there are lots of characters. Some have bigger parts and some smaller. Here they are:

                 James                  v. 2                         martyred for his faith

                 James gives his life for what he believes. What a horrible tragedy. And what an amazing gift.  We know that God can bring good out of terrible circumstances. God used Stephen's death in Acts 7, James death here, and other early Christians' martyrdom to stir the church into action and to take the good news to the ends of the earth. God may be calling you to use some tragic circumstance or very painful experience in your life to reach out to others. Right now he may be bringing someone across your path that you can speak into their life because of what you have been through in your life.

                 Herod                  v. 3                         self-exaltation, Christian limitation

                 Every good story needs a villain. And Herod Agrippa is a good villain.

Herod is the one who kills James. He sees that this act "pleases" the Jewish leaders and so arrests Peter. He is one is for exalting himself - doing what pleases the largest crowd. John Piper says that Herod is for self-exaltation and Christian limitation. It's really all about Herod - whatever he can do to maintain power, popularity, and gain praise.  Who doesn't want to be liked? We can all be tempted by praise and power. We can learn from Herod to keep our eyes on Jesus, be quiet to hear his voice, and to be courageous to answer his call on our lives. We'll visit him again later.

                 The church       v. 5                         earnestly praying

                 As Herod is persecuting, we see that the church is "earnestly" praying. This is a slightly different form of the same word that was used to describe how Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of his arrest. Jesus prayed so passionately that blood came through in his sweat. Both times, Jesus in the Garden and the church here in Jerusalem, are times of crises and high stress and we see people praying earnestly, passionately, calling out, crying out to God.

                 I heard a speaker years ago, who said, we need more "Oh Lord!" and less "Dear God" prayers. "Dear God, thank your for this day, for the sunshine, for my family, help me today to live a good life. Amen." Sometimes, we need to be praying with passion. We need, "Oh Lord! We need you! We need you desperately now! Come Holy Spirit! Guide me, help me, give us strength, courage, wisdom. God, we beg of you that you help the person that I love who is need. Lord in your mercy, Help them! Lord, help those who are in poverty and suffering - change my heart to feel the way you do about them. God, be with those being crushed by this recession - they need your help, they need you to provide, we all need you!"

                 I'm very impressed with small groups that meet all over the country called Moms in Touch. Moms gather to pray for the children and teachers and administrators of their local school. They don't socialize, they don't share requests and talk a lot about them, they have a prayer list, often times given to them from principals or teachers. This list leads them to pray for a teacher whose husband is out of work, a teacher whose child is sick, a student whose parents are separated and their home is in disarray. Then they take time to prayer earnestly for their own children - lifting up their names with passion - to bring them to salvation, to guide them, to be in their friendships, to help them in school, to help them serve God. These small groups of Moms are not representing any certain church - but they are the church - God's people gathered to pray with passion for His will to be done.

                 Angel                   v. 7                         God's messenger and minister

                 Now about the angel. Herod appointed many soldiers to guard Peter - most likely in the Roman traditions - two guards, one on each side of Peter, and 2 guards at the doors, and this group of four rotated four times a day. God uses an angel to do the work. Angels are God's messengers, ministers, and militia. They send his word to his people, as Gabriel told Mary she would give birth to the baby Jesus. They minister, as this angel does with Peter. They fight spiritual battles on God's behalf when ordered to do so. Angels are not evolved humans and humans don't become angels after death. If you'd like to know more what God says about our bodies in heaven, check out 1 Corinthians 15. Angels are separate spiritual beings, obedient to God. The church praying thinks that the one knocking at the door may be Peter's guardian angel, later realizes it is Peter. The Bible hints at several places that we humans may have guardian angels, but we're unclear whether we do or not. What is clear is that angels exist, and that they do the supernatural work that God bids them to do. One day we will finally learn what the angels have been doing on our behalf, and at that point we will undoubtedly be amazed at their power, their effectiveness, and their nearness when we thought we were entirely on our own.

                 Peter                    vss. 6-17              rescued, believes, tells

                 Peter is the main individual in the story. I like the fact that Peter uses the word rescued in verse 11. We all need to be rescued from something - be it our own sin or a crisis we have had or will have. Peter was already a leader for Christ; the leader, the Rock of the early church. But Peter can be a little clueless sometimes - he sometimes says the wrong thing to Jesus, and has to reprimanded. And in verse 7 it says, the angel "struck Peter on the side." Peter is led out of the prison miraculously and finally when the angel leaves, realizes that this is real, not a dream. Like Peter, we need to be awakened to the needs around us. When we are awakened by God, we need to tell others, as Peter did, going to the group that supported him and lifted him up in prayer. That is what Peter does and what we are called to do. To share life together in community as God has called us to do. In good times and in crises, we look for God's rescue and we turn to our Christian closest friends and families for support and prayer.

                 Mary                     v. 12                      house and hospitality

                 What about Mary in verse 12? This part of the larger church is meeting in Mary's home - and they are there to pray. What is Mary's part? Mary apparently has the gift of hospitality. Most Bible scholars believe Mary's house, which is mentioned other places in Acts, is chosen for two reasons - she has a large house and she is willing for people to meet there. How many of you have this gift? I would guess a lot of you. You have a nice home, and you are willing for people to meet there. You might be trying out your gift of hospitality - looking for ways to invite people in to deeper fellowship - to come and join you in your home. If you have the gift of hospitality - use it. Everyone has gifts and everyone has a part to play.

                 John Mark         v. 12, 25               watch and learn, go

                 Mary is the mother of John Mark, verse 12 and verse 25. John Mark is just mentioned here but he goes on to play a very big role in the early church. He is a young man - maybe a teen or early 20's at this time - who is watching and learning what is going on. By verse 25, he goes on a mission trip with Barnabas and Paul. We learn later that John Mark leaves Paul and Barnabas and returns home. Paul is very upset at this but eventually they reconcile with Barnabas's help. Mark went on to write - the gospel of Mark - which most of the information most likely coming from Peter. Had John Mark, the young man, not had his Mom host the early church for prayer in her house, would the gospel of Mark ever been written? Matthew and Luke used a lot of Mark's writing in their gospels - so a lot of what we know about Jesus' life and ministry comes from Mark's hand. He had a part to play. He was young and made mistakes, but God continued to raise him up to answer the call and do God's work.

                 Rhoda                                 v. 13                      answers, tells, insists   

                 Another apparent young person is Rhoda. She is the girl who answers the door in verse 13. We believe is younger and in a servant role. How many of us feel, for whatever reason that we are young in the faith, or in a servant role? I'm sure many of us. What if, like Rhoda, we find ways to serve where we are? Rhoda hears the knock, recognized Peter's voice and runs to tell the church about it. When they doubt her, she insists that they listen, and they come to the door too and see Peter. She has a role, a small one, but she listens, she talks, and she insists on telling what she knows. We all have a part of the story. Where can you listen, talk, and be insistent on what you know to be true?

                 The church       vss. 15, 16           skeptical, critical, astonished

                 What about that part of the church gathered in the house? They are to be commended for their prayers, but they don't believe Rhoda or believe in Peter's voice until they see him. They are skeptical, then critical of Rhoda - "You're out of your mind!" and then astonished when they see Peter. In their defense, James one of their leaders has already been killed, it's not been that long since Jesus was crucified, and now Peter is in prison - they are thinking - he's already done. But here he is alive! What can we learn?

                 The church is imperfect. We can be skeptical, critical, and astonished too. We know that with God all things are possible, but do we really believe they are probable?

The story is told of a small town in which there were no liquor stores. Eventually, however, a tavern was built right on Main Street. Members of one of the churches in the area were so disturbed that they conducted several all-night prayer meetings, and asked the Lord to burn down that tavern. Lightning struck the tavern a short time later, and it was destroyed by fire. The owner, knowing how the church people had prayed, sued them for the damages. His attorney claimed that their prayers had caused the loss. The congregation, on the other hand, hired a lawyer and fought the charges. After much deliberation the judge declared, "It's the opinion of this court that wherever the guilt may lie, the tavern keeper is the one who really believes in prayer while the church members do not!"

God calls us to pray with passion, and then listen for His response. The church must believe that God hears our prayers and responds.

                 Herod                  vss. 22, 23           exalted, executes, eaten

                 Herod, we saw early in the story, executed James, arrests Peter, and is all about power and popularity. After Peter escapes, he executes the guards who let him escape. Then he travels to Caesarea and gives apparently a great speech, because the people shout, "This is the voice of a god, not a man." Scripture says that because he accepted that praise as a god, and did not give praise to the one true God, he died. The historian Josephus affirms this story by saying Herod did not "repudiate their flattery" as a god, and immediately had violent abdominal pains, and died five days later. Verse 23 is on the top 10 list for Bible verses for teenage boys. "the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died." Cool! The message - choose God's side, not the world's side. Choose to trust in God and stay humble, don't choose power and popularity.

                 The word of God v. 24                increased and spread

                 Finally, we have our last part of this short story. The word of God continued to increase and spread. God's word would not be denied. As we heard in Acts 1:8 - that the church will be witnesses in Jerusalem (right here in this story in Acts 12) Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. God's good news will not be denied. Despite an occasional setback, the death of a leader, the fear and flaws of the ordinary churchgoers, God is good and his word spreads.

                 Where do we get our courage and inspiration to go on when times are tough? When our loved ones are suffering or dying, when things go wrong, when jobs are lost, when we are rejected, when we are faced with our own limitations and flaws? We go to God, our source of life, strength, and help. We ask for His Spirit. He sends His Spirit continuously to provide us what we need. All of us, individually and collectively, are called to be free from the limitations that hold us back from following God full out. Here's three ways we can take some steps in that direction:

                 Action Points:

 Remain in God - read Acts this spring and John 15 this week. Continue reading in the book of Acts about what God is doing in the early church and today's church. John 15 tells how we may remain in Jesus - that he is the vine and we are the branches - and what he commands us to do.

 Pray - earnestly - pray "Oh Lord!" more than "Dear God." God doesn't want lukewarm followers. May we begin to pray with passion - and look for ways to join with others in our prayers as the early church did.

 Answer God's call - Listen, Listen, Love, Love. Answer God's call to be you - free of the limitations of our world - depending on Him. He made you in his image - find your gifts and use them. Listen to God, listen to others - then Love God and love others.

                 What's your part in the story?

                 Let us pray.